Life Always Comes Back to Bite You in the End
by Prpldragon50
Summary: As Maggie decides to stay in Hawaii and accept a place on the task force, her past comes roaring back to bite her in the ass. A continuation of 'Live Doesn't Always Go As Planned' as Maggie and Steve try to figure out what they have between them and the rest of the team adjust to having a former undercover operative on the task force. More ramblings of my over-inspired mind.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here is the next chapter in the 'Life' series. Picks up where 'Life Doesn't Always Go as Planned' leaves off. Not necessary to read it but it will explain how the relationship between Maggie and Steve began. Hope you enjoy this continuation.**

 **A/N2: Whump as promised and starts right away. Again, I am not a medical, law enforcement or 'interrogation' expert.**

Prologue

Watching him pull into her drive, she smiles at the memories and walks out to the truck. "Good morning." She says, opening the passenger door.

"Morning. You know where we're going, right? This truck is gonna be a rough ride getting there." He hints.

She stops before she gets the seatbelt fastened. "No problem. Park a little closer to the fence and ride shotgun." She opens her door.

"You know I don't do shotgun."

"YOU know my rules about my car." She sits back, staring at him.

"Fine, get in, shut the door, put on your seatbelt." He pouts as he puts the truck in gear and backs out.

She smiles, looking out the window and wanders back into her memories.

She had come to this island on an undercover op…and to visit her brother. He'd moved here when he was twenty and had built a great life. It had been over fifteen years since the last time she saw him and she was so happy to get that chance. Then he'd been killed. It had been her fault or so she believed. She'd come to broker diamonds in hopes of tracking them to prove they were being used to finance a turf war between two major crime families. She had almost lost it when he died. She'd shut down and Steve helped to ground her and bring her back from the brink. She sought out mental help and over time, she was able to function again but by that time, she was hooked. She couldn't admit it, but she never wanted to leave this island.

A couple of cases and come up that they needed her help, and she'd gladly given it and brought down a child sex network and kept two young children from being sold into slavery for a couple of hits. But she still hadn't been ready to admit how much she wanted to stay and build a life here. She'd all but made her mind up that she was going back to DC and never see them, or him, again. Then the most incredible thing had happened. Just when she'd decided to inform Steve of her decision, the offer to stay and become a permanent part of the task force came from the most unlikely of people.

 ** _Danny._**

They'd been gathered at Kamekona's and she'd placed the badge on the table between her and Steve, waiting for him to take it back, when Danny had told her she'd already started building a new life and that the job was hers, if she wanted it. She'd been so overwhelmed she'd almost broken down right then and there. He was the last person she ever thought would be offering her a job on the task force. But he'd been genuine in his offer and she'd changed her mind. He was right. She had built a new life over the last three months and she couldn't walk away from this one. It was the one she wanted…the one she wants. He had placed the shield back in her hand and when she placed on the waist of her jeans, everyone had cheered and Kono had given her a huge bear hug, not wanting the let her go. She'd managed to keep her emotions in check for the rest of the afternoon but as soon as she walked in her door, she broke down and cried with relief. She had never felt she belonged anywhere as much as she did here.

The last few weeks had flown by. She'd had no time to herself and certainly no time to spend with Steve, other than work. They'd dropped her right into the fray and in the beginning, she'd almost panicked and took off, but pulled herself together, leaned on the team for help and support and found them amazing, especially Jerry. It didn't take long for her to learn to depend on them when needed and start working seamlessly within the team. Though she spent a great deal of her time at HQ working the table and gathering intel, she didn't mind anymore. She knew Steve was easing her into the true fieldwork and she was glad, after her first two cases, and she found herself appreciating how he was looking out for her.

Not that the time had been all work. Late one night, they all got talking about the injuries to Steve's face from that crazy scene on the beach and they couldn't deny it any longer. The truth came out that she'd gotten drunk and took him down, in a manner of speaking. There had been plenty of laughter and good-natured ribbing about the big, bad SEAL getting beat up by a girl. The next day, she walks in to find out that she and Steve had been signed up to do a sparring exercise for the academy cadets. She's never found out who signed them up but she suspects it was Danny. He found it absolutely hilarious that she'd left Steve bruised and beaten and when they'd found out about the head injury, he'd almost fallen out of his chair, rolling on the floor in laughter.

She'd been a little distracted during the exercise as she thought she heard Tyler's voice and laughter again, but had managed to hold her own and had Steve down on the mats. Just as they were about to call her the winner, though, the alarm had gone off and they found themselves in the middle of an attempted takeover of the Palace. She and Steve had found themselves trapped in the basement, in of all places, a broom closet. A delivery had just been made so it had been full of boxes and a tight squeeze. She found herself face to face with him and NOT thinking about the danger they're in. Neither had he been. She felt that. Before anything could happen, they'd been interrupted by the perpetrators and both of them had moved as one and taken them. She had been riding an adrenaline high after that, knowing how they'd worked together and it had felt so right.

That had been a week ago and she'd been going crazy thinking about that moment in the closet. She was sure he was gonna ask her out tonight. He'd told her he had something to ask her when he'd called about picking her up this morning to go to this crime scene. So here she was, sitting in his truck as they made their way up the highway, listening to truck struggle up the mountain.


	2. Chapter 1A

Doherty: Revenge is Sweet

"We should've taken my car." She looks at him as the truck struggles up the hill.

"Yeah, well, we would've if you'd let me drive. Until then, we take the truck." He growls, pushing the accelerator all the way to the floor.

She shakes her head, turning her head and looking out the passenger window. "You are the most stubborn man on the planet."

He looks at her, a frown on his face. "If you'd just let me drive your car, we wouldn't be having this conversation. We'd be there."

"Sorry, but no one drives my car but me. I told you that. I've put too much time and money into it to allow someone else to total it."

"It's such a sweet ride, though. How can you NOT let me drive it?"

"Self-preservation, Steve. I want my car to live. Besides, the color is not common. It's taken me three weeks to find a body shop that has the color in stock. Otherwise, they have to order it from the mainland and takes an extra week. You know I won't like to be without my car for that long." She turns back to him, blinking her eyes as the sun shines in them. They crest the top of the hill and the truck lurches forward. He eases off the gas, glancing over at her.

"You've been listening to Danny too much. His car hasn't been in the shop that many times." He shakes his head and looks at the road.

"Oh really? How about four times in the last 6 months?" She reaches up and rubs her eyes.

"Hey, two of those I had nothing to do with it." He defends himself. He blinks a few times trying to clear his eyes.

Maggie rubs her eyes again. "Steve, I don't feel so good." She shakes her head trying to clear it. Turning her head, she sees him doing the same thing. She reaches out for his arm but drops it, feeling as though it weighs a ton. "Steve…" her head falls to her chest.

"Maggie," he reaches out to her, blinking fast to try to stay alert. He can't keep his eyes open long and tries to take his foot off the gas, but unconsciousness takes him quickly. His hand falls away from the wheel as the truck weaves back and forth across the road, finally crossing the center, over the shoulder and down the embankment. Steve and Maggie are tossed about as the truck bounces down the hill. The truck hits a large boulder causing it to roll and land on the driver's side.

"Where are they?" A voice yells from above.

"About halfway down, boss. The truck hit a rock and rolled."

"Get down there…NOW. I need them both alive." He glances down the hill.

"You got it, boss. On our way now." His first lieutenant yells as he follows the rest of his crew down the hill. Doherty stands at the top, making sure nobody else stops.

Edward, the 1st Lt., gets to the truck first and looks in the windshield. Unable to see clearly, he carefully knocks out the glass. "Get over here. We need to get them out now!" He yells to the rest of the crew.

Maggie is hanging by the seatbelt around her waist, the shoulder belt not locking fast enough to keep her from sliding out. She has a large gash on her forehead and smaller cuts and scrapes on the rest of her face and down her arms. A small trickle of blood runs down her cheek from her nose. He reaches in, his fingers on her neck to check her pulse. Satisfied with her strong heartbeat, he turns his attention to Steve. He has the same cuts and scrapes on his face and arms; his nose is bleeding heavier from slamming into the steering wheel. He feels the SEAL's neck and gets a strong pulse. Grabbing his phone, he dials his boss. "Boss, they both have steady and strong heartbeats. As soon as the rest of the crew gets down here, we can get them out and loaded into the van."

"Let me know when you're on the way up." Doherty motions to the driver of the van to move as close to the edge as he can. Maneuvering the van close to the edge, no one driving by will be able to see anything happening. He looks over the edge, impatient to be on his way and put the rest of his plan into motion.

Consciousness comes at her slowly and painfully. It plays at the edges of her mind, teasing her sanity and threatening her beliefs. She tries to get through the fog but the pain fills her mind. Believing to still be in the truck, she tries to move but can't. _Am I paralyzed? Is it that bad? Why can't I move?_ What seems to come from a distance, she hears the screaming of someone in tremendous pain. Trying to focus on that sound, she climbs back to reality at a snail's pace, unable to grasp on to anything. Listening to the screaming, she tries to discern where, and who, it's coming from. Reaching through the fog, she remembers what was happening before she lost consciousness: riding in the truck with Steve to a crime scene. _Steve! Fuck, that's him screaming! I need to get to him!_ She tries to move again and is still unable to at all. Starting to panic, she fights her way back to full consciousness, swimming through the fog and pushing back the pain. As she comes closer to the surface, she realizes she is sitting up, but not in the truck. As reality settles in more, she finds herself unable to move her arms or legs, as if they're bound. She tries to move her head and is able to a small amount. She finds that a mistake, though, as a sharp, piercing pain shoots from just over her eye through her head and down her spine. Gasping, she stops moving to wait for the pain to subside enough for her to take stock of herself. She can hear the screams clearer now and knows she needs to get to him and see how badly he's hurt. Almost feeling back to full consciousness, she does a mental inventory. Obviously, she hit her head hard, from the pain still pulsating down her spine. Pinpricks all over her face and arms tell her there was some kind of broken glass raining down on her. Trying to move her hips, she can tell the seat belt did its job, yet the bruises she's going to have from it will be around for a while. Otherwise, she just aches from head to toe. The screaming gets louder and then suddenly stops short. Terrified that he's in worse shape than she is, she painfully lifts her head, opening heavy lids. Slamming her eyes shut as the light increases the pain in her head; a loud groan escapes her swollen, bruised lips. She tries again, her concern for Steve overriding any caution and she sees a blurry form in front of her. Blinking fast to try to clear her vision, she hears a voice that freezes the blood in her veins.

"My, my, look who's decided to join us?" The form comes closer and she feels a hand under her chin, thumb and forefinger on each side of her jaw. Raising her head to look into her eyes, he smiles as he sees the recognition. "How are you, my dear? Never thought you'd see me again, did you?" He chuckles evilly at her.

Her eyes open big at the sound of his voice and she looks into his eyes. "What the fuck are you doing here?" She grumbles out, her swollen mouth making it hard to speak clearly.

"Oh, you know why I'm here. You know what I want. It's what I wanted twenty years ago." He shakes her head, causing another loud groan to come from her. Pushing her head away from him, he steps away so she can see her partner.

Frowning, she lifts her head back up to see Steve sitting in a similar chair, his hair plastered to his head, his face red and covered in sweat. Breathing heavy, he looks over to her, his eyes showing only concern for her. His torso is bare, she can already see bruises forming from being beaten, and she sees a branding iron in the hands of a large, redheaded brute standing next to him. Squinting at him, she can see several burns on his chest and deduces that's the screaming that she heard. "Steve?" She croaks out.

"M' fine," he pants, still catching his breath. "What about you?"

 _He's being tortured, burned and beat, and he's asking how I am?_ "Don't worry about me." She mumbles, her head pounding and the radiating pain down her back causing her to gasp.

"Awww, you two are so sweet, worrying about each other but I don't have time for that. You know what I want, Eileen, oh forgive me, Special Agent Finneran. Where is he?" Doherty demands, leaning over so he's only inches from her face. "I know you know where he is."

"I don't, Ian. I have no idea." She insists.

"You really expect me to believe that? He's over nineteen now so he is free to leave and you want me to believe you haven't searched for him? All the contacts you have in the government; all the people you know and you haven't asked a single one of them where he is? Your own son?" He screams at her. She can feel the spittle hitting her face as he yells at her.

"I haven't." She closes her eyes, her head feeling ready to split open. "I don't even think he knows I'm alive and I'm not going to put him in any danger by finding him. I have no idea where he is." She opens her eyes to see his face filling her sight.

"I don't believe you." He sneers. Standing back up, he signals to the thug standing next to Steve. He puts the iron in his hand back into the fire and grabs another from it. She sees the end glowing red-hot and immediately understands what his intentions are.

"No, wait, Ian. I don't know where he is! I swear! I have no idea where my son is!" She begs him. He shakes his head at her and nods to Edward.

She watches as he approaches Steve, who looks at him with pure hatred and a little bit of fear, and brings the brand up to his chest.

"Dammit, Ian, I'm telling you the truth! I don't know! Please, stop!?" She screams, her head pounding from the effort and the pain shooting down her back she can no longer ignore. Screaming out the pain, she lets her head fall back against the back of the chair. Looking out through half-open eyes, she watches in horror as Edward presses the brand against Steve's chest, moving slowly and deliberately, pressing hard as Steve lets out a ear-piercing scream of pain.

 **A/N: Whump as promised. Hope it's not too much. But seriously, can there ever be TOO much? Let me know. I appreciate any and all feedback. (Slinks away until the next time)**


	3. Chapter 2

Doherty: Torture

Ian leans over and whispers in her ear, "Besides the searing pain of the red-hot brand, it's placed right over a pressure point, increasing the pain tenfold. I don't know how much more your boss can take." He snickers.

"You son-of-a-bitch! Leave him alone!" She screams, forgetting how much pain it causes. "He has nothing to do with this! It's between you and me." She hisses out.

"On the contrary, my dear. He has everything to do with this. How else am I going to get you to tell me the truth, huh?" He glances over as Edward picks up another brand and presses it against the tender area just under the ribcage. The sound that comes from Steve's mouth is inhuman, almost, as it fades away to nothing. She struggles to get free, disregarding the pain that goes through her entire body. Ian watches her struggle and slaps her across the face. "Tell me what I want to know and this will stop."

She takes a deep breath, waiting for the pain to subside a bit. She looks at Steve as his head rests against the back of the chair, his eyes pleading with her. "I vowed I would never look for him, for his own protection. It's the only way I can still be his mother. He doesn't even know me. You have to believe me." She's all but begging him.

He looks in her eyes and can't tell if she's lying or not. "Oh, you are good. You spent five years lying to me. To my face and in my bed. I know how good you are and I don't believe a word you say. He is the most important thing in the world to you and I know you would die before telling me where he is. But, would you allow someone else to die to protect that secret? Huh?" He glances back to Steve, who's breathing heavy and grimacing in pain. "Would you allow HIM to die to protect your son? Would you be the cause of his death to protect your son?"

"Don't listen to him, Maggie." Steve grunts out between gasps. "She doesn't know, asswad."

"Well, well, the boss man speaks up. How would you know? I'm sure there's plenty you don't know about this woman. I let her into my home and my bed for five years and she was lying to me the entire time. You can't believe anything she says, Commander. She is an experienced liar and a fantastic actress. If you believe her, you are not the man I thought you were."

"I know as much as I need to. I believe her when she says she doesn't know where her son is. His safety is most important to her. She wouldn't do anything to jeopardize his life."

Doherty walks over to Steve, shaking his head. "Oh, my dear boy, she has you under her spell, doesn't she? Have you slept with her yet? Has she brought you fully into her web?" He laughs, looking back at her. "I gotta tell you, **Maggie** , remembering what you can do in bed got me through a lot of rough nights in prison." He leans over Steve, "She is incredible in the sheets. I'm sure she's just perfected her technique over the years with all the other marks she's slept with. Oh, I know all about her career. I've met a few of the others in prison and we had some very stimulating conversations."

"Shut up, you pig." Steve growls.

Doherty studies the SEAL's face, trying to read him. "Oh, I see. You HAVEN'T slept with her…yet. I'm sure it's just a matter of time." He backhands Steve across the face. "She's just biding her time until she feels its right and then she will pounce like a tiger after her prey. That's just who she is."

"You don't know her. That's not who she is now."

"You are more naïve than I thought, Commander. She's had you completely snowed." He chuckles, motioning to Edward. Doherty walks over to Maggie, pulling the gun out of the back of his waistband. Watching Edward and another associate, they move to each side of Steve and reach down to loosen the bonds on his arms and legs. Doherty holds the gun to Maggie's head, "if you even think about trying anything, I put a bullet in her head, Commander. Got that?" He puts the muzzle tight against her head. Steve looks directly in her eyes and sees the slight shaking of her head. He capitulates and lets the two thugs manhandle him. Tying his hands together with the thick rope, Edward reaches over his head and pulls down a large meat hook. Putting it through the ropes, the other one hit the button and the hook moves up until Steve's feet are barely touching the ground.

He'd noticed the hook when he first awoke so he was expecting this. It seems to be a favorite of those wanting information. As often as he remembers being in this position, this time was different for two reasons: one, his left shoulder was injured in the accident so he was feeling a great deal of pain from that and two, there was someone else involved that he had to protect with everything he has. He cannot allow her to be hurt any more than she already is, even if it means his demise. So, he's willing to go through whatever this jackass has planned.

"There we are. Comfortable?" He puts the gun back in his waistband and walks over to Steve. "If she wants you to live, Commander, she better tell me what I want to know. I can't believe she's been here over four months and hasn't tried to find him. She's been out of undercover work for that long and has no inclination to find her only son? No, I don't believe that." He walks over to a table and grabs the cat o'nine tails sitting there. Swinging it around a couple times to test it, he quickly hits Steve across his back. The straps had small pieces of glass imbedded on the ends and they leave several lines of blood across his muscular back. Steve makes not a sound. "Trying to be brave, Commander?" He shakes his head and whips them over his stomach. Maggie sees the lines of blood immediately as he grimaces in pain.

"Stop it! He doesn't know anything and neither do I!" She screams at him. She gasps as the pain shoots through her head and down her spine again. Closing her eyes for a moment, she hears Steve's sharp intake of breath as Doherty hits him again. Snapping her eyes open, she sees the tears on his pants and small areas of blood seep through the fabric. Doherty continues this torture until Steve finally can't hold it in and yells out in pain. Maggie's breath catches in her throat when she hears this and a small sob escapes. "I'm so sorry, Steve." She whispers. Doherty throws the whip aside and stands looking at his prisoner. Walking around him, he takes in the form hanging before him.

"You are in very good shape, Commander. I must say. She's picked a good one this time. I may enjoy this more than I thought when I came up with this plan. It's just a shame neither of you will be walking out of here when we're done."

"Please. Let him be. I don't know where Kyle is and neither does he."

"Well, if you don't, then you can find out."

"It doesn't work that way, Ian. I can't just call someone up and ask where my son is. If he is still in the program, no one is going to tell me."

He looks over at her and then back at Steve as he swings from the hook. Walking over to the table, he picks a rag up from a bowl full of water, wrings it out and picks up another bowl filled with a white, grainy substance. Standing in front of Steve, he dips the rag into the bowl, coating it in the white crystals. "What're you doing?" She asks, fear and revulsion in her eyes.

"You've heard of putting salt in the wound? Well, guess what?" He says as he presses the rag against the still oozing branding in Steve's side. Grinding the rag into the wound, he smiles as he hears the grunts of pain as it shows on his face. "Feel good, Commander?" He pulls the rag away, coats the damp rag again and runs it along all the cuts from the whip. Steve groans, unable to hold it in as the salt dissolves into the wounds. Throwing the rag on the ground, Doherty grabs a handful of the salt, moves around to his back and rubs it brutally into the still bleeding cuts all over his back. Steve screams out, arching his back, trying to get away from Doherty's hand. "Don't like that? Oh, my, I'm so sorry but I'm just gonna have to keep at it until your girl over there tells me what I want to know." He grabs another handful and grinds it into any open wound he can find.

Maggie closes her eyes to keep from watching the pain he's inflicting on Steve. She had caught the slight shake of his head as Doherty first made his way over with the rag. She feels such despair at not being able to help him. She does not have any idea where her son is. But she had to do something to get Doherty to stop. Closing her eyes, she can't keep the pain away as it invades her head through her ears and she grimaces as she hears his screams. "STOP!" She screams. "Leave him alone, you prick! He's done nothing to you. If you need to punish someone, punish me!" She whimpers.

"Don't worry, I'll get to you soon enough." He grins as he goes back to the table. Perusing the items on it, he looks in the corner of the room and smiles. Walking over, he picks up the industrial hose and turns on the faucet to which it's attached. Watching the water flow out, he turns to Steve and sprays him, concentrating on his face and head.

"Stop it. You're gonna drown him!" Maggie screams, straining against her bonds. Her desire to get to him and stop Doherty overpowers the pain shooting through her entire body. "Dammit, Ian, stop!" She watches as he moves the water from Steve's head to his feet and back up again, barely giving him any time to catch his breath. Steve struggles to get any amount of air into his lungs, sputtering and spitting, jerking around on the end of the hook.

"Having a hard time breathing, Commander? Feel like you're gonna drown? Well, this can stop if she would just tell me what I want to know." He glares at Maggie, pointing the hose directly at Steve's face.

She hears him gasp and groan, his head thrashing about, trying to keep the water out and get precious oxygen in. "God dammit, how many times to I have to tell you, I don't know! You have to believe me." She cries, tears running down her face. "Just please, stop." Her voice cracks and she starts to sob.

He nods to Edward, who turns off the water. "I'll stop when I believe you're telling me the truth." He takes the head of the hose and shoves it in the waistband of Steve's pants.

Breathing hard, Steve looks him in the eye, "Well, I guess I'm gonna have to hold my breath cause we're gonna be here for a long time." Doherty backhands him, splitting Steve's bottom lip. Maggie watches as the blood flows down his chin and drips on the floor. "Still gonna be here a long time." He mumbles out.

Doherty's patience gives a little and he attacks Steve as if he's in training, using him as a punching bag. Maggie can hear the grunts and groans with every hit and can't stop the tears. _He shouldn't be here. He has nothing to do with this. He shouldn't be in all this pain cause of me! Doherty's my problem. But how do I stop him? He doesn't believe me and he'll kill Steve before he does stop. I can't allow that. Maybe…._ "Ian, stop. Please!" She screams at him. "Fine." She murmurs.

Doherty stops for a moment, staring into her eyes. "Oh, my dear, if you even think about lying to me to get me to stop, think again. Whatever you tell me will be verified and if it is a lie, the two of you will die slow, painful deaths. I will lock you in this room to bleed out, starve or dehydrate, whichever comes first. If I get the truth, you go quickly. I'll bring this entire building down on both of you and you won't feel a thing."

"Either way, we die. Why tell you anything?" Steve grunts out between breaths.

Doherty walks back over to him. "Maybe cause you want to do the right thing and not allow someone you care about suffer? Allow their death to mean something instead of a shallow effort?"

"By handing over a young man so you can kill him? Not gonna happen." Steve grimaces with the effort of speaking.

Doherty, his patience wearing thin again, he walks back over to the table, grabs the cattle prod and turns to Steve. Nodding to Edward, he pulls the hose out of Steve pants, hands it to Edward and waits while he turns the water back on. Grinning evilly, he turns on the prod and hits Steve in the abdomen.

Maggie screams out, trying to get him to stop. She knows with the addition of the water, the pain must be unbearable and the sounds coming from Steve confirm it. She squeezes her eyes closed again, trying to unsee what she's seen.

After beating and shocking Steve for more than an hour, Doherty is completely frustrated. Neither is giving in and he is getting no information.

She opens her eyes, having closed them to keep the visual memories out, and watches Doherty. His frustration is evident as he throws the cattle prod across the room. Standing, visibly shaking, he suddenly reaches out, grabs the gun sitting on the table turns, places it against Steve's right knee and pulls the trigger. She could hear the different sound the gun made and understood it was modified for this specific purpose. The sound that comes out of Steve's mouth is inhuman and she wishes she could block it all out; she will hear and see it forever. Screaming at Doherty, she begs him to stop.

"Stop it, Ian, please?!" He looks over at her, cocking his head to the side. Looking back at the body hanging from the hook, he smiles as he notices Steve breathing heavy and trying to hold in the pain.

"Holy Fuck! I think I may have it all wrong. You are telling the truth, Maggie. You don't know anything about your son." He turns to Steve, "but I am sure that he does." He reaches down and grabs the injured knee, pressing on the wound. Steve lets out another inhuman howl and tries to twist out of Doherty's grasp. Not letting go, he squeezes the knee tighter wanting the SEAL to experience as much pain as possible. Maggie closes her eyes again, shaking her head and a tear falling as she suddenly hears the scream stop. Snapping open her eyes, she sees Doherty wiping his hand off, looking at Steve as if he'd never seen him before. Moving her eyes to Steve, she sees that he has blessedly passed out. "You are wrong, Ian. He knows nothing."

He glares at her. "You are still so naive in some ways, my dear Maggie. Of course he knows. By his reputation, he knows everything about the people he works with and since you told him about your son, I can guarantee you he went looking."

"No. I specifically asked him not to look for Kyle. I didn't want anything out there to jeopardize his safety."

"And you think that will stop him? Please," he chuckles, "his type never changes. He needs to know everything and nothing will stop him."

She shakes her head, regretting the movement as soon as she makes it. "No. He wouldn't do that. Not where someone's safety is at stake."

Doherty just smiles evilly at her. "Well, why don't we just find out, shall we?"

"He's not gonna give you any info. You know enough about him to know he's been trained for this. Even if he did know, which I'm sure he doesn't, you won't be able to get it out of him." She gives him a defiant glare.

He walks over to her, towering over her head. "Oh, I know that, precious. He's not gonna break by threatening his life and limb." He reaches down and grabs her under her chin. "But how do you think he'll react if I threaten yours?"


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks to the few who gave me a few words of encouragement. They certainly help to keep this story going. Here is more whump.**

Doherty: Unstoppable

Her eyes get big, "What do you mean?" She sees his slight nod and Edward and another thug come over to her.

"Untie her and stand her up." He turns to the one other crew member in the room. "Get him down from there and put here." He points the chair Maggie is currently in. She struggles to get away but between the head injury and the two strong crew holding her tight, her attempt was almost comical. Seeing them starting to tie her hands in front of her, Doherty shakes his head. "No, behind her back." He instructs them. Dragging her over to the hook, they hold her there while Steve is dropped to the floor and hauled over to the chair Maggie has just vacated.

He's forced into the chair, legs tied loosely to the chair legs and a rope tied around his chest and arms, just above the elbows. Doherty walks over to her, grabs the hook and slides it into the ropes on her wrists. Signaling to Edward to tighten the chain holding the hook, her arms are pulled slightly up behind her back and she groans, as the pull on her shoulders is immense already. She's bending forward at the waist to try to lessen the pressure but it doesn't help much.

Doherty moves to stand in front of her, her head at his waist. He chuckles, "well, well, isn't this a familiar position." He snatches her by her hair and pulls her head up to look him in the eye. "What fun we could have right now." His free hand moves to his belt buckle as her eyes open wide. She tries to twist her head out of his grasp, forcing him to tighten his hold.

"Boss," Edward nods over to Steve.

Doherty turns, releasing her head. He walks over to Steve, who's waking slowly, his groans soft and full of pain.

"Welcome back, Commander. How ya feeling?" He chuckles, pulling Steve's head up by his hair.

Steve groans in pain as his head is yanked up and swallows hard to keep his stomach from revolting. "Better than you will be." He grumbles out, barely able to see out of bruised and swollen eyes.

"I love how you are still confident you're going to get out of this alive. You never give up, do you?"

"Never." Steve growls.

"Oh, I'm so glad to hear you say that, Commander. You've just proven to me what I've been thinking since you passed out. Your tenacity tells me that, no matter what Maggie's told you, you went ahead and found her son. You know where he is and you ARE going to tell me." He steps back and out of Steve's view.

As soon as he sees Maggie hanging from that hook, he gets a hit of adrenalin and almost gets out of his bindings. Doherty moves quickly behind him, pulling on the rope around his chest, tightening it. Steve screams out, partially in pain and partially in grief at seeing Maggie hanging from the hook. Doherty moves back in front of Steve, bending over to look him straight in the eyes. "All you have to do is tell me where Kyle is and she comes down from there and your deaths will be quick."

Steve bares his teeth, hissing at Doherty. "How many times do I have to tell you, I don't know."

"Oh, my dear Steve, I just can't believe that. You don't give up and when presented with challenge, you never turn that down. When she told you that she had a son, I guarantee you you're first thought was 'Where is he?' After that, you couldn't let it go and had to find out where he is. I know you have all kinds of contacts in the WITSEC program so I'm sure it was easy for you to get that info. I also know you've been well trained by the Navy to resist torture and interrogation techniques so I'm going to change things up a bit." He moves back toward Maggie, picking up a boning knife off the table. Holding it up for Steve to see, he smiles as he turns to her. "Are you willing to put her life on the line just to protect someone you've never even met?"

"You're gonna kill us anyway, Ian, so what does it matter?" Maggie hisses out at him, trying to look back at him.

"Oh, but it's all about how you're gonna die. I have a hard time believing this man over there wants to sit there and watch as you bleed out, screaming in constant pain. I have a hard time believing you want him to sit there and watch as the life leaves your body. I get what I want and you both go quickly, not having to watch the other die. I can be that merciful."

She laughs bitterly at him. "Merciful? Oh, please, Ian. You've never shown mercy in your entire life. Remember, I lived with you for almost 5 years. I know how you treated people, especially me, who you said you loved. You don't know the meaning of the word."

"Maggie, shut up!" Steve spits out at her. "Stop it."

Doherty looks at him, realizing what she's trying to do. _These two are two-of-a-kind. Both wiling to sacrifice themselves for the other. She is not the woman I knew twenty years ago. So different, so mature, so self-sacrificing. I could actually find myself liking her if not for the fact that she put me in prison for the last twenty years._ "No, don't stop. She's right, Commander. I've never shown any mercy in my life. Why start now?" He slices at her, drawing blood from her forearm. He hears Steve scream at him, begging him to leave her alone. "Oh, don't worry. It's not deep, but just enough to sting and bleed. And we both know by cutting on the vertical of the arm instead of the horizontal, it takes so much longer to clot. As long as I don't hit a major artery or vein, she'll last a long time." He moves to her other side, swiping at her other arm. He gets no more than a grunt out of her but another scream out of her partner.

He looks at Edward, nodding toward the ceiling. Edward moves to the controls and the hook raises another foot. This causes Maggie to yell out as the pressure on her shoulders increases as they start to slowly move out of the socket. He looks at Steve as she yells, his face showing an animal urge to kill. He knows if Steve gets free while he's still in this room, only a bullet in his brain will stop him from killing. "Can you imagine the pain she's feeling as her shoulders slowly move out of their sockets. I know you know how painful a dislocated shoulder is but it usually happens quickly. She's experiencing all that, but in a slow, calculated manner and the pain doesn't stop. I'm sure you're familiar with this technique, reverse hanging. One of the many stress positions." He nods to Edward, who raises the hook another foot. Maggie screams out as her arms are lifted up behind her, now at a one hundred-twenty degree angle from her back.

"Dammit, Doherty, stop. I don't know where he is."

"I just don't believe you. It would be completely out of character for you to not have searched for him. I just can't believe you." He reaches out and backhands her across the face. "Shut the hell up, Maggie. I've had enough of your screaming to last me a lifetime."

Her head reels back from the hard hit, blood dripping from her mouth. "Fuck you, Ian." She mumbles, spitting blood out onto the floor. Anger rising, he moves to her, bringing his knee up into her mid-section and his elbow down on her back, putting more strain on her shoulders. Not able to control himself again, he hits a few times across the face, another knee in her gut and finally kicks her legs out from under her putting all her weight on the hook and pulling her arms up tight. The last move is more than she can handle and her ear-piercing scream is cut short as consciousness leaves her. Taking in a deep breath, Doherty looks over at Steve who is straining against his bonds, trying to get to her side. He looks up as her scream is cut off, fearing Doherty had killed her and sees her body swinging from the ropes, her arms in an unnatural position up behind her head, her shoulders obviously pulled completely out of their sockets.

"No, Maggie," he croaks out, his voice leaving him. Glaring at Doherty, he opens his mouth to speak but is cut off.

"Don't even say it, McGarrett. You're gonna kill me. Oooooo, I'm so scared. You can't even get out of that chair. Now, just tell me what you know and I'll kill her before she wakes up." He moves with a couple feet of Steve. "She doesn't have to be in any more pain. You can keep that from happening by just telling me what I want to know."

"I can't tell you what I don't know. I have no idea where her son is."

Doherty stands, motioning to Edward. Pulling out the hose, he turns it on and hits Maggie right in the face. The cold water brings her around almost immediately and for just a moment, Steve thinks maybe she's not in much pain. Not so. A wail leaves her body that sounds unreal; not human. He's not sure what it sounds like but it rips through his soul leaving it torn in two. Her wailing doesn't stop as Doherty walks back over, takes hold of her hair and pulls her head up so she's looking in his eyes. Shaking his head, he drops hers as he motions to Edward to hoist her up. Another unearthly sound leaves her as she's raised up so her toes are just barely touching the ground. Now all of her weight is on the severely damaged shoulders and she can't stop the sound from leaving her body.

Walking over to another table, Doherty picks up a bottle of water and takes a long, slow drink. He stops when her voice finally gives out and she can't scream anymore. "Finally. I didn't think she was ever going to shut up." Turning to Steve, "now, where were we?" He walks back over.

"Obviously you are not the man I thought you were. Allowing her to go through so much pain. Not very chivalrous at all." He gives Steve a few tsk- tsk's. "Still not going to tell me ANYTHING? Damn! I am so over the two of your right now. We have been at this for hours and the only thing I've learned is that the two of you are stubborn son's-of-bitches!"

He walks over, grabs Steve's left arm, twists it away from the arm of the chair and brings his other elbow down…hard. The resounding crack of bone he hears and the subsequent grunt from Steve's mouth gives him a warm fuzzy feeling all over and he steps back. The veins on Steve's head and neck are protruding and pulsing as he tries to control himself from screaming out.

"Tell me what I want to know." Doherty demands one more time. "I'm not going to ask again. If you don't tell me what I want, I'm going to give her a couple of long cuts in strategic places that will allow her to bleed out without clotting in a manner of hours. It will be painful and slow and you will have to sit here and watch her die. Once that is done, I will do the same to you, leave this building and still bring it down on the two of you where it will take weeks for anyone to find your bodies." Getting no response from the former Navy SEAL, he walks back over to Maggie, picking up the boning knife again and slices across her right thigh. Her voice long gone, all she can do is grunt and scream in silence.

"Stop! Fine. I'm so sorry, Maggie. I know you asked me to leave it alone, but he's right. I couldn't. I reached out to my contacts in WITSEC and had the information in a matter of days. They gave it to me on a flash drive that's sitting in my safe in my office." He sees the look of betrayal on her face and he wants to go back and change things. "I've not looked at it. I have no idea what information is on there…but it's there. I swear, Doherty, I have never looked at the files. I received it and it went straight into the safe. I realized I should've never asked for it, possibly putting Kyle in danger, but it was too late. The least I could do is not look at it so I wouldn't have to lie if ever asked." His eyes plead with her to forgive him.

"Are you fucking serious, McGarrett? You expect me to believe that you have the information and you never once looked at it? Not once? Never even connected it to your computer and downloaded it?" He looks back and forth from one to the other. "No, I can't believe that."

"It's true. It went right into the safe and has been there ever since." He shifts against the ropes around him and feels them give a little.

Rage taking over, Doherty storms from the room, not ready to kill the two of them just yet.

 **A/N2: Thoughts? Any please. Are they going to survive? Let me know what you think?**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Let's see what the rest of the team are up to...**

Doherty: Chasing Tails

Danny walks around the crime scene one more time. He's been pacing around it for the last 30 minutes waiting for Steve and Maggie to arrive. "Where are they, Chin? They should be here by now. Any luck reaching either of them?"

"Sorry, brah. Rings and then goes to voicemail. For both."

"Makes no sense. Kono!" Danny yells for her.

"What's up?" She walks over.

"Do me a favor. Activate the GPS on both the SS and the truck. Let me know where they are."

She nods, moving to her car to pull out her laptop.

"Got a bad feeling about this, Chin. A bad feeling."

Chin nods, looking back at the scene. "This really can be handled by HPD. Not sure why we were even called."

Before Danny can answer, "Danny, got something!" Kono yells out at him.

He runs over to her car, Chin right on his heels. "What? You find them?"

"Yeah. The SS is at Maggie's. Hasn't moved." She points to the map.

"What about Steve's truck?"

"That's where things get weird. GPS puts it off the road on the way here."

"What do you mean, 'off the road'?"

"Off the road. See here? Here's the road. The GPS puts the truck here." She marks a point off the road. "Almost as if it's in the forest or down the hill."

"Shit. Let's go. It's not far." Danny runs back to his car. Chin barely makes it in the passenger seat before it's moving at a high rate of speed.

They pull up at the coordinates Kono sent them and immediately sees where the truck went off the road. Stopping on the other side of the road, before he can even get out of the car, Chin is already grabbing equipment from the trunk. Closing the door, the turns to the trunk. "What are you doing?"

Chin peers around the trunk lid, "I'm gonna go find the truck and see if they are okay." He closes the trunk, repelling gear in his hand. "They might be hurt, Danny. That's why neither are answering their phones." He heads across the road, tying off to a large tree still standing. Danny watches as he goes over the edge, following the path the truck made as it barreled down the embankment.

"Careful, Chin." Danny yells after him. He starts walking around the scene, something's not sitting right. He notices tire tracks parallel to the road, over the trucks tracks, pulled right up to the embankment's edge. Crouching down, he sees the deeper treads where it seems the vehicle stopped. Standing again, making sure not to step in the tracks, he looks around again, now noticing no skid marks on the road. Glancing over the edge, he jumps as his phone buzzes. "Chin?"

"They're not here, Danny."

"What do you mean? They have to be."

"Nothing, brah. The truck in on its side; the windshield is smashed out; there's blood in the truck, on the steering wheel and seats but no Steve or Maggie."

"Maybe they set off, trying to find help?" His senses are tingling. _This is so wrong!_

"I'm not seeing any footprints leaving the area, but there do seem to be several different prints around the truck. At least three, maybe four different sets. Maybe they're on their way to the hospital? Maybe help was here?"

Danny shakes his head, "No, something's not right, Chin. If that was the case, why not call us? I know they might not recognize Maggie, but they would certainly know Steve. No, I'm not liking this." He pulls the phone away and conferences Kono in. "Kono, we found the truck but Steve and Maggie aren't here. Check all hospitals and clinics to see if they've been brought in. Lou? You there?"

"Right here, buddy."

"Get CSU over here ASAP."

"Danny, they're working this case."

"I don't care, Lou. I have a bad feeling about this. Kono's not gonna find them, but I wanna cover all bases."

"I'll see what I can do."

"No. No try, Lou. Get them over here. If you have to call in anyone off today, do it. Be sure to get Eric over here."

"Hey, Danny, I just scanned all the hospital intake records for the last hour." Kono interrupts.

"And?"

"Nothing. No one even resembling Steve or Maggie have been brought in. Sorry."

"Not your fault. It was a stretch. Get them over here now, Lou! I'm liking this less and less." He turns back to the edge. "Chin, work the truck until CSU gets there."

"What are you thinking, Danny?"

"I think they've been taken. It's the only explanation."

"Seriously?" Lou says.

"Yeah. Until proven different, we work it that way. Lou, you and Kono get over here. HPD can handle that scene. This one is priority." He hangs up, walking the side of the road again. Not wanting to lose anything, he starts snapping pictures of the tire marks and treads. Also takes ones of the road showing no skid marks. He carefully walks the shoulder in a grid pattern, looking for anything else out of context.

Minutes later he hears the roar of vehicles and they arrive. Soon, a cordon is set up, blocking off the section of the shoulder around where the truck went off the road. Danny, Lou and Kono are going over what he's found when Chin comes up behind them.

"I think you're right, Danny." He says.

"What did you find?"

Chin holds up an evidence bag with a cylinder in it, about six inches long and three in diameter. "Found this in the engine, hooked up to the air flow system. Looks like it was rigged by remote to send some type of gas into the truck. Most likely some kind of sleeping gas."

"Have it tested, Chin. That's it. This is no longer an accident. This was planned. They've been taken. This takes priority over any other case."

"Okay, Danny, but if this was planned, how did they know Steve and Maggie would be here? I mean, it's not exactly on their everyday route."

Danny look around, trying to figure it out. "Wait…wait a minute. What if these two are related?"

"What the hell you talking bout?"

"Think about it, Lou. This is the only road leading up to the other crime scene. There's not a lot of traffic so it would be easy to get them out of here without anyone seeing. Everyone knows the two of them would be travelling together. Would it be a stretch, if wanting to abduct them, to stage a murder scene? Some way of making sure where they're gonna be at a specific time?"

"You really think so?" Kono asks.

"I don't know, but we can't rule out anything. If the two are connected, we have a clever criminal here and our work cut out for us." He shakes his head. "Kono, go back over to the other crime scene. With this possibility, work it from this angle. It could just be bait to get them out here."

She nods, grabbing her laptop and heading for her car.

"Lou, where's Eric?"

Lou points. Danny turns to see his nephew walking over, kit in hand. "Eric, I need you to find out what kind of vehicle these tracks belong to. We need to know what type they were probably taken away in."

Eric nods, "You got it, Uncle D."

Danny looks at him, but lets it pass.

"What are you thinking, Danny?" Chin asks.

"Well, there may not be any cameras up here, but there are coming and going. If we can determine the type of vehicle, maybe we can spot it on the traffic cams on each end. I know, I know, it's a long shot, but right now, it's the only option we have. We can have Jerry start on it as soon as we know the make and model of vehicle."

"Danny, brah, that's gonna take forever."

"You have any better ideas? We have HPD trying to track down any possible witnesses. Aside from finding someone who saw anything, this is all we've got."

Chin looks from Lou to Danny and nods. Right now, it's the only option they have.

 **Think they'll find anything in time? Don't worry, we'll be checking in with Steve and Maggie soon.**


	6. Chapter 5

Doherty: Bringing Down the House

Steve looks at Maggie for any signs of life. She's hanging lifeless from the hook. He knows the amount of pain she felt when they pulled her all the way off the floor, her toes barely touching the ground. He's dislocated both shoulders, but never at the same time and always quickly, from some type of fight or accident. He can see the stress on her shoulders as they continue to pull away from her body. He knows if she hangs there for much longer, she'll have permanent damage and possibly never have full function of her arms.

Fighting against the ropes, despite the pain and tearing of his own injuries, he can feel them loosening. Doherty just better hope he doesn't get loose while he's in this room. "Maggie? Can you hear me?" He yells at her hoping to get some kind of reaction. "Come on, Maggie. Let me know you can hear me!" Nothing. He continues to struggle against the ropes, feeling them loosen with each movement. Looking up at the sound, he sees the door open, Doherty walks in followed by two of his crew carrying a large metal object. Steve can't quite make out what it is until its right in front of him and he can see the timer. "What the hell?"

 _H50+H50+H50+H50+_

Danny turns as he hears his name. "Got something for ya, Uncle Danny." Eric walks to him.

"What?"

"Matched those tracks. Late model van, E250 most likely." He pulls up graphics on his tablet. "I've checked and there are about 200 registered on the island. Most of those are fleet or commercial. Should be easy to track."

"What about the ones left?" Danny grabs the tablet.

"Fifty non-commercial. Ten of those are sitting in a junkyard. That leaves forty out there. Either personal or rental."

"Check the rentals first. Find all of them. If they are all accounted for, then move to the personal. I want that vehicle found!" He all but throws the device back.

"Uh, you got it." Eric walks away, shaking his head.

"Give the kid a break, Danny." Lou says from behind him. "He's doing a great job."

Danny hangs his head. "I know that, Lou. I don't know what else to do. We got squat here. I'm grasping at straws to find these two. I just have a bad feeling about this." He leans against the cruiser.

"I know, buddy. We'll find 'em. Don't worry. No one's giving up till we find 'em."

Minutes turn into an hour as they wait for the forensics to give them any kind of clue.

Eric comes running up to them, a smile on his face. "Uncle D, I narrowed down the possibilities to five. I accounted for the personal ones and all but five of the rentals." He taps the tablet and Danny's phone buzzes. "Just sent you those five. I hope that helps."

Danny looks at his phone and then back at Eric. "Thanks. It helps. Gives us an idea of what to look for." He smiles. Eric nods at him and turns back to his truck. "And don't call me Uncle D."

Eric nods, putting his hand up in the air to say, 'I got it.'

Danny turns to the others. "Ok, guys, listen. Lou, you and Kono stay here in case we get any more info. Chin, you and I are gonna head back to HQ, give these five to Jerry and see what we can do to find them."

They all nod, Danny and Chin heading back across the highway to the Camaro. Getting in, Danny sits for a minute, breathing hard.

"You okay, brah?" Chin asks him after a few minutes.

Danny breathes hard, sighing loudly. "No. Not really. This feeling's not going away, Chin. They are not gonna be okay. I know it."

"Hey, we'll find them, Danny."

"I know. I just don't know if that'll be alive or dead." He puts the car in gear and heads back to HQ.

 _H50+H50+H50+H50+_

Doherty laughs, "Oh, my dear Steve, I said the two of you weren't walking out of here. This is one of three I'm leaving here in the building. They'll be looking for your bodies for days. Now that I know where to find the information, I thank you Steve. I just need to find a way to get it. Shouldn't be too hard in the next few days as your team will be busy trying to find your bodies."

He walks over to the device, which is now sitting on the floor between Steve and Maggie. He slides the cover of the keypad over, punches in a couple numbers and closes it back up. "You got one hour to say your goodbyes." He slides a knife out of a unique sheath and walks over to Maggie. "One last thing." He shoves the knife in her abdomen, pushing it in to the hilt.

"What the fuck?!" Steve screams out, his fear apparent. She makes neither sound nor movement.

"Oh, I'm sure that within the next twenty minutes, gravity will play its part and this knife will slide out and then she will proceed to bleed out. You will get to sit there and watch her die before you're blown to bits." He chuckles as he walks toward the door. "Again, Steve, thank you for letting me know where I can find the information. You've given me more than I ever hoped for." He motions to his 1st and 2nd and walks out the door, locking and blocking it behind him.

Steve looks over at her, trying to gauge if she's still alive. "Maggie?" He yells. "Come on, Maggie. Answer me!"

He works at the ropes, gritting his teeth against the pain in his arm and chest. Feeling the ropes give a little more, he moves his right hand against his chest and slowly moves the ropes up. Once he gets it to his shoulder, he lowers his head underneath them and his upper body is free. Reaching down, he's able to undo the loose ones on his right leg and then, with difficulty and a great deal of pain, he loosens his left leg. Holding his left arm against his body, he slowly stands and stumbles over to her.

Glancing at the device to his right, he sees forty seven minutes and change and he tries to move faster. Reaching her, he feels her neck and let's out the breath he was holding as he feels a weak, but steady pulse. Limping over to the wall, he hits the button to let her down. Unable to control the descent, he winces as she lands on the ground. Moving back over to her, he unties her arms and, being as gentle as he can, moves them back around to her front and crosses them over her chest. Making sure the knife is still in, in effect staunching, the blood flow; he feels a fresh flow of blood down his lower leg. Groaning out as he grabs a rag off the floor, he clumsily wraps it around his knee and ties it tightly.

Looking around, he realizes what he has to do. Moving as quickly as he can, he moves the solid wooden tables to the far corner, placing one on its side and the other over it, creating a small, protected area. Grabbing the rope that was around her wrists, he weaves it under her arms, tying it off and wrapping it around his good arm. Knowing he may be doing more damage, he tries to be gentle as he pulls her across the floor to the tables. Making sure she's still breathing and her heart is still beating, he takes a moment to catch his breath as the next thing he has to do is going to take every bit of energy he has. Slipping the rope from around her, he loops it around his broken arm and then around his body. A loud groan slips out as he tightens it to keep the arm from moving too much. Limping back over to the chair, he picks up the rope, moves to the bomb and, after a few tries, he gets it tied around it. Draping the trailing end over his good shoulder, he grunts as he drags it to the opposite side of the room.

Breathing heavily, with sweat running down his face, running into every cut on his body, he leans against the wall and looks at the clock. _Twelve minutes, twenty-two seconds! Fuck!_ He looks at the other side of the room and wonders if he can make it back over there. Right now, it seems as if its miles away.

He hears banging on the door, "Steve! Maggie!" He hears from the other side of the door.

"Chin?" He yells as loud as he can.

"Steve? You okay?" He hears more banging against the door. _Nine minutes, ten seconds. Shit!_

"Chin, get out of here! This building is set to blow in less than nine minutes! Get everybody out!"

"No, Steve, we can get this open!" The banging continues.

"Dammit, Chin, get out! The door is re-enforced steel, at least four inches thick. You won't get through it in time. Please, Chin, get everyone out to a safe distance." Steve pleads.

"NO! The bomb squad is here. We can get in and defuse it."

Steve squeezes his eyes tight. "Get out, Chin! That's an order. You only have seven minutes to get everyone out. Do it now!" He almost slides down the wall at that point, having used almost all his reserves. Knowing he will never get back up if he goes down, he locks his good knee and takes a deep breath. He hears orders being given on the other side of the door. Taking a deep breath, at least he knows the rest of his team is going to be okay. He has no idea how they found the two of them, but he needs to let Chin know not to leave HQ empty. Doherty will try to find a way in.

"Chin!" He yells out.

"Everyone's getting out Steve. As soon as it's safe, we'll be back in for you. You have anywhere you can try to cover yourself?"

Steve looks at the poor excuse for a shelter, though the tables are heavy, solid wood. "Done what I can. Listen, Chin, don't let HQ sit empty. Make sure there's someone there at all times. You hear me?" Steve pounds on the door. "Chin?"

Silence.

Glancing down, he sees the timer at less than five minutes. Taking a deep breath, he does what he can to cover the bomb and deflect the blast away from him and Maggie. It's weak, but any little can help. By the time he feels it's the best he can do, he looks at the timer. Less than two minutes.

Calling on the last of his reserves, he stumbles, almost falling to his knees twice, over to the opposite corner and finally allows himself to drop to the floor. Crawling under the tables, he checks her again, feeling a weak, thready pulse and short, panting breaths, but alive. Calculating they only have a few seconds left, he carefully places his body over hers, his mouth next to her ear,

"I'm so sorry, Maggie. I shouldn't have followed up on Kyle. Now I've put him in danger. If Doherty gets his hands on that flash drive, I've killed your son. I never meant to hurt him…or you." He whispers as he feels the first of the bombs go off in another part of the building. Seconds later, he feels the pressure from the one in the room as it tears through the walls, ceiling, and the tables surrounding them. The last thing he does is pull her close, trying to protect her as several pieces of concrete fall on top of him.

 **A/N: **runs and hides****


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Struggling a bit with this part. Hope it makes some sense. As I said before, I am not any kind of medical expert. Only what I can glean from the internet and some personal experience.**

Doherty: Aftermath

Danny makes his way through the rubble, trying to get to his partner. He'd been on the other side of the building when he heard Chin over the comm stating he found where they were being held. His heart has almost stopped when he heard Chin's voice state there were three bombs in the building, one in with the two of them, and they needed to evacuate to avoid being caught in the explosions. He'd said Steve said there wasn't enough time to try to disarm them and the best thing to do was to get out. Danny tried to make his way to where he knew Chin was but was blocked and forced to a safe distance. Now, as he makes his way through the rubble, hours later, he hears over his comm that they'd found the two of them and he picks up his pace. Stumbling through the makeshift doorway, he sees Chin standing while the paramedics kneel next to a body. He rushes over and sees them working on Steve and he has to turn his head away to keep from losing his lunch. He's seen his partner beaten and shot before but nothing like this. Parts of his chest look as if they'd been through a meat grinder, they are so mangled.

"Steve," he whispers. Chin turns and looks at him, concern and worry on his face.

"Danny." Chin puts his hand on Danny's shoulder, giving him support.

"What are they saying, Chin?" He steps closer, trying to see if Steve is awake. Again, he's shocked by the condition of his face. Between the dirt, dust and blood, he can barely make out any features. He watches as they insert an IV in his right arm and left hand as his left arm is splinted and wrapped. Steve's entire chest is now covered in bloody bandages and the clothing still left on him is soaked in blood. "What the hell did they do to him?" He chokes out.

"It's not good, Danny. Several blocks of concrete landed on them, most hitting Steve on the head and back once the tables he used as shelter collapsed. They found the two of them partially buried and Steve on top of her, protecting her from most of the fallout." Danny nods his head, not surprised that his partner would do that. "A couple of large contusions on the back of his head, possible severe concussion; broken arm in at least three places; several burns from branding irons, that we can see; and he was 'kneecapped', Danny. The bastard blew his knee out." The anger in his voice quite evident. Danny looks at his teammate, surprised to hear that much anger. "And on top of all this, with the dirt, concrete and dust, the chance of sepsis and severe infection is high…for both of them."

Danny looks around, having forgotten about Maggie. "Where is she, Chin?" He follows where Chin points, noticing another group surrounding her. Walking the few steps over, he takes in her situation. Like Steve, she's covered in dirt, dust and blood. Her left arm, folded over her stomach, is wrapped and effectively immobilized against her body with an IV in the back of her hand. The lower part of her right arm is trapped underneath a pile of rubble with one medic pressing down on what can be seen of the cut up the inner side of her forearm.

"We need to insert a central line. She needs fluids and a wide spectrum of antibiotics started right away." He hears one of the paramedics state.

"We can't do a line here! The chance of infection is too great, not to mention the fact that she's already showing signs of a severe infection already. We cannot put in a central line here!" His partner yells at him.

"We need to do something! Until they can get her loose, we need to stabilize her. I can only get the one in her hand."

"A port." Danny mumbles.

The medic kneeling in front of him looks up. "What did you say?"

Danny shakes his head, focusing on the medic. "Uh, I think she has a port. She's diabetic with only one functioning kidney so she had a port put in a few years ago." He remembers Steve saying something about it after her injury in her dealings with Kamakasu.

The medic near her head gently runs her hand over Maggie's collarbones, stopping under her right one. "Here. He's right!" She pulls out scissors and cuts open the shirt.

Danny turns back to the rescue workers removing the pile of rubble on her arm. Clearing the last of it, his stomach heaves at the blood and obvious broken bones. The medic at her side moves over and Danny hears a sharp intake of breath as he assesses her hand. Quickly wrapping her forearm, trying his best to immobilize the hand, he looks over at his partner. "Okay, her arm is free. We need to get her out of here. What's the status on the Medi-Vac?"

A medic next to Steve replies, "One is landing right now."

"Only one? We can't get both in. Where's the second one?"

"Big pile up on the H3."

"Dammit, neither of these two can make the hour drive to Tripler! We need to get both of them on the one, somehow."

"You know that can't be done. No room for anyone else."

"What do you suggest?" The one female medic stands, having packed up her kit. "I can squeeze in with both and monitor. It's the only choice we have." She nods to them.

Quickly, they move Steve and Maggie onto the waiting stretchers and out through the rubble. Danny, never leaving his brother's side, moves with them, Chin at Maggie's side. Once outside, they all get a big surprise. Beside the Medi-vac copter is Kamekona's.

Looking at the big guy, Danny has to question him. "What are you doing here?"

"Heard bout a pile-up on the H3. Figured you could use another ride." He waves his hand at the two helicopters.

"Big Guy, you are fantastic!" Danny pats him on the back. Turning back to the paramedics, "Let's go. We got one for each!" He waves them over. Seeing their hesitation, he walks over to them. "It's this or you decide who survives! I mean, that's basically what you were gonna have to do, wasn't it? The one taking the copter has a better chance of survival that the one in the ambulance? So choose…or use what's here and we get both of them to Tripler quickly."

Looking at each other, they all nod and move to the helicopters. They put Maggie in the back of the Medi-vac and Steve in Kamekona's. Danny climbs in with Steve, sitting in the front next to the big guy. "Chin, stay here with Lou and make sure that every little piece of rubble is processed in this place. Get anything! It's all we have to go on until one of these two wakes up and tells us what the hell happened. Okay? Have Kono ride in with Maggie. I'm not leaving either of them alone!" He puts the headset on and motions for Kamekona to take off.

Riding in with his partner, Danny wonders who the hell would do this kind of thing. From what he can see, it was calculated and brutal. Steve, still unconscious, looks as though he's been chewed up and spit back out. His chest is riddled with cuts, bruises, burns and torn skin. He can't even begin to imagine the amount of pain Steve experienced. And that doesn't include the broken arm, bullet in his knee and head injury from the falling building. Whoever did this to his teammates was psychotic and he vows to bring him down.

But right now his focus is on Steve and making sure he makes it to Tripler alive. The paramedics are concerned as his vitals are low and he's having a hard time breathing. Danny wants to hold his hand or at least touch him to let him know he's not alone but can't find a place where he's not hurt. The distress on his face is clear and the paramedic smiles at him. Landing outside the ER entrance, Danny is out of the copter, making way for Steve to be given priority. He is forced to wait outside while they evaluate, test and x-ray.

He paces back and forth down the hall, waiting for any news. He turns as he hears voices and footsteps heading his way and sees Kono making way for Maggie. Rolling past, he looks at Kono and she shakes her head. "She's in bad shape, Danny."

"They both are, Kono. They've got Steve in getting all kinds of tests and x-ray's and I'm sure they'll be doing the same for Maggie."

"Who would do something like this? I mean, not even WoFat was this bad. Sure he fucked with Steve's mind, but this is on a whole other level. This guy has severe anger issues." She shakes her head.

"I dunno. Chin and Lou are making sure they process every damn piece of rubble left in that room. We have nothing to go on until one of these two can give us something."

"We'll get him, Danny. Don't worry." She grabs his hand and gives it a squeeze.

At one point, about thirty minutes later, a nurse comes out with a quick update. Both are hanging in and heading up to surgery. "The Commander needs to have his arm set. He's gonna have a couple of pins put in to keep stable but he should get full function back. As for his knee, we won't know how bad it is until we get in there. We're monitoring the head for any signs of internal bleeding and keeping a close watch on the infection. He has several broken and fractured ribs; bruised kidneys and liver and we're also monitoring for any internal bleeding. We'll let you know when we have more information."

"What about Maggie? Uh, Agent Finneran?" Kono asks.

"She's headed up to OR3. I'll be honest, her shoulders are a mess and the infection that has already started throughout her body is serious. We're giving her large doses of IV antibiotics and blood in hopes of stabilizing her. Again, we'll let you know when we have more information." He nods at the two of them and walks back into the room.

Danny shakes his head and begins pacing again. Another thirty minutes pass and one of the ER doctors come out. "I'm Dr. Koroba, head of the ER. Detective Williams?" She looks at Danny. She motions to him and pulls him aside, out of Kono's hearing.


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks to all who are reading this. Any feedback is welcome. Again, I am not a medical expert, so any mistakes are purely of my imagination. Lots of angst in this one.**

Doherty: Cheating Death

"Any word?" Chin runs up to Danny and Kono.

"They're getting ready to take them both into surgery. What are you doing here?" Danny frowns.

"I was just getting in the way over there. They have every available CSU, whether on duty or not, working on this one. They are processing every bit of rubble looking for any clues as to who did this."

Danny nods. "Neither is doing well. Steve is going to need pins in his arm; it's broken in three places. His knee needs some serious repair work, though at least the kneecap wasn't destroyed. Both are at risk for sepsis and infection, especially with all the dust and dirt from the explosions. So far, no bleeding in the brain from the slabs of concrete hitting Steve on the head but they are going to monitor him for the next 72 hours for that. The bruising and injuries to his kidneys and liver are just that. He has several fractured ribs but no internal bleeding. As for Maggie, they need to monitor the injuries to her shoulders. Both were completely pulled out of their sockets, the sick bastard. She also has several deep cuts and the asshole actually left a knife in her abdomen, I guess hoping it would fall out and she would bleed out. They don't know if she'll have full use of her arms in the future." He scrubs his hands down over his face. "I gotta tell you; this guy is a fucking lunatic. What he did to the two of them goes beyond all that is sane."

"They can't be in better hands. You know that. Steve is strong. He'll pull through. And Maggie? Just look what she's been through in her life…she's a fighter." Chin tries to comfort the other two. "We gotta stay positive, brah."

"I understand that, but this guy had a specific purpose, Chin. He wanted to be sure these two died and not be found for days. Why do you think he blew up the building? Why else would he put one of the devices in with Steve and Maggie? Only our dumb luck and that footage from the traffic cams gave us any leads. If we hadn't found them? We'd still be looking for them elsewhere and only by chance would they be found in the remains of that building. You realize how crazy, foolish luck played into this whole situation?"

"Whatever, Danny, we found them and they're here and getting the best treatment this island can provide. Let's celebrate that and move on." Kono states, frowning at him.

Danny stares at her for a minute, and then nods his head. "You're right. I know you're right, but I can't help but think…"

"I know, brah." Chin puts his hand on Danny's shoulder in support. The three of them go to the surgical waiting area and wait for any news.

 **& &&&&&&&&&&&&& hours later**

Danny's been pacing for the last 30 minutes. Kono's getting dizzy watching him and grabs his hand the next time he passes her. "Please, stop. You're making me dizzy, Danny." She pulls him down into the chair next to her.

"Sorry. It's been over 5 hours since they both went in and you know how I hate waiting."

"I know. But no new is good news?" She grins at him, hoping to calm him.

He smiles back at her, which comes across as a grimace. She puts her hand on his knee to keep it still as he was starting to twitch.

All three heads come up when footsteps are heard. The two surgeons walk in together looking worn out. Danny stands, wringing his hands with worry. He can feel Kono's hand on his back helping to ground him.

"Well, the Commander is out of surgery and in recovery right now."

Danny lets out the breath he'd been holding. "Maggie?" He asks looking at the other doctor.

"She's a different story. Our biggest concern for her was the infection that had already started through her blood. She is being given high dose antibiotics but her body is fighting both the infection and the drugs. We've reduced her shoulders and have immobilized them. During surgery to repair the cuts and stab wound to her lower abdomen, her temperature spiked and she started seizing. We had to stop and she is being monitored up in the ICU. We will have to run tests in a few days to try and determine the damage done to her shoulders once she stabilizes and her temp drops back to near normal. We are trying different meds to find the best ones for her but it may be 24 hours before that happens."

Danny shakes his head. "Son-of-a-bitch! What about functionality?

Her surgeon shakes his head. "Nerve bundles have been affected and until we get in there, I can't tell you much. They are both a mess. Whoever did this to her knew what he was doing if he wanted to cause pain and long term damage."

"I don't think he expected them to survive." Kono says, standing next to Danny.

"That makes sense. With the damage to both its obvious this person didn't care how much pain these two were in or if they survived."

"I think it was information they were looking for." Chin speaks up.

The doctor nods. "We are keeping a close eye on her and if her vitals stabilize, we'll get her assessed as soon as possible."

"What about the rest of her injuries?"

"We were able to stitch up all the deep cuts and the stab wound in her abdomen. Again, our biggest concern is infection. With her inherent medical conditions, we have to be careful about doses and types so as not to aggravate them." He shakes his head. "I have to be honest...with all that she's been through; it's amazing she's still here. She must have an iron will." He looks from one team member to another.

Danny nods his head. "Not sure who's more stubborn...her or Steve. They both seem to defy the normal standards of life and death." He snorts his derision. "What about Steve? Uh, Commander McGarrett?"

The other surgeon speaks up. "As I said, he's in recovery right now, but in isolation. His pain level is high and we need to keep him isolated where others can't hear him. No, Detective, we can't knock him out at this point due to the severe concussion. We need to watch closely for any hemorrhaging or complications for the next 24 hours. Once we know he's past that danger, we will place him in a medically induced coma to help the healing and give him a respite from the pain. He is also experiencing high temps along with the infection of his wounds. Not quite as bad as Agent Finneran but still of concern. The next few days for him will be crucial so we want to give him every chance at a full recovery."

Danny, feeling faint, sits back down, unable to believe what he's hearing. After all his brother's been through, that this bastard could take him down leaves him feeling angry and helpless. With no clues from the crime scene, they are at a complete loss as to who did this. And until Steve or Maggie is conscious, the team is left finding out on their own. "What about Maggie? Is she conscious?"

Her doctor looks at him. "She's been in and out since she went into ICU. But you can't even think about seeing her. With her level of infection and her compromised immune system already, even the slightest amount of bacteria could put her into a coma, never to come out."

"I understand that, doc, but it's vital we speak with one of them. What about Steve? Can I see him?"

"I'm sorry, Detective, but with the amount of pain he's in you wouldn't get anything out of him that makes any sense. He wouldn't be able to understand you. I know it sounds cruel and we are giving him as much pain medication as we can, but it can only dull so much."

"Then, Maggie. I need to speak with her while she's conscious. Put me in a hazmat suit, I don't care, but I need to see her. Just for a few minutes." He is standing in front of the doctor, hands in front of him, palms together. "Come on, doc. This may be our only chance to find out who did this."

The doctor looks from Danny to Kono to Chin and back to Danny. "Fine, but you will need to go through full decontamination; full scrubs, gloves, mask and cap. Once in there I am giving you no more than five minutes. If she doesn't wake up during that time, I'm sorry, but any more than that is putting her at too much risk. Understand?"

Danny nods his head. "Let's go." He motions for the doctor to lead the way.

 **H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50**

He walks into the room, almost wishing he'd changed his mind. The sight before him is gruesome. He hears the whooshing of the vent as it moves air in and out of her lungs along with the steady beeping of the heart monitor. Both arms are wrapped from shoulder to wrist in gauze, secured to her body and immobilized. Her right hand already casted after being crushed in the building. His eyes move up to her face and he grimaces with what he sees.

Most of her face is swathed in butterfly or full bandages covering the many cuts. If not covered by a bandage, it was bruised or scratched. Her left eye is swollen shut, purple and black bruising surrounding it. Her right eye is visible and as his eyes meet it, he sees its open and staring at him. The vent keeps her from being able to speak, though he can now hear the grunts and groans as she tries. The gaze in her eye is intense and says so much.

"Hey, Mags. Shhh, stop trying to talk. Don't." He moves alongside the bed. "It's Danny. I won't ask how you're feeling." He tries to smile at her. He hears a loud groan and he gently places his hand on her knee. "Please, Mags, I don't have long. I know you're in a lot of pain but we're at a loss out here. Do you know who did this to you?" She tries to nod, but the pain and all the tubes and wires keep her from moving it much.

"No, no, Mags, don't try to move. Can you blink? Yeah, that's good. One for yes, two for no." She blinks once. "Okay good. Do you know who did this?" Once. "Is it someone we know?" Twice. He hears another groan and knows it's not her trying to talk. "I'm so sorry, Mags. I know." He keeps himself from squeezing her knee, not wanting to cause her anymore pain.

"Can you tell me who?" He's not sure how, but he's willing to try anything, even if he has to go through the entire alphabet, letter by letter. Once. "You can?" He notices her left hand move. Looking closely, he sees her try to form a letter. "That's it, Mags. I know the alphabet. Go ahead." Grace had taught him the ASL alphabet when she learned it in school. He remembers hearing something about Maggie knowing ASL and can't be more thankful for that knowledge.

She gets her little finger up, looking like an 'I'. "Is that an 'I'?" One blink. "Go ahead." He watches as her hand forms a loose fist, with the thumb against her index finger. "An 'A'?" One blink. He sees her body tense up as a wave of pain floods her. "Good, that's good, Mags. Keep going."

The guilt he feels over making her do this is almost more than he can take. The pain he sees in her good eye makes him want to slink away in shame. Yet he knows she understands how important it is for them to identify who did this as quickly as possible. He watches as her hand moves again, forefinger and middle finger moving over her thumb. "A 'T'?" Two blinks. He thinks for a moment. "An 'N'?" One blink. She closes her eye, pain moving over her body again. The groan coming from her is louder, almost animalistic.

"I..A..N? Ian? Is that it?" He asks.

She opens her eye, glaring at him.

One blink.

Then he notices something else in her gaze. A question.

"Okay, Mags. Ian. What more?" He continues to see the question in her eye along with panic.

"Oh, god, Mags, I'm sorry. Steve. He's here. He's alive. Oh yes, he's alive." He can't believe he didn't tell her right away. "He's here in the ICU. He made it through surgery and though, like you, he's in a lot of pain, he's alive. Barring any complications, he's gonna be fine." He gently places his hand over hers, giving it a slight squeeze.

"So are you. Let the meds to their job, Mags. Okay? We need you here." He sees the pain in her eye as the monitors start beeping faster and an alarm goes off. Almost immediately, he feels others in the room, grabbing at him and pulling him away from the bed. He watches as they check her vitals and increase the pain medication.


	9. Chapter 8

Doherty: Back-story

"Detective, you need to leave." He hears from behind him. He turns to see the doctor standing there.

"Is she gonna be all right?" He moves away from the bed, but looks back at her.

"She's in a great deal of pain. She had been falling back into unconsciousness before it became too bad but with you here, I'm guessing she fought it to give you the information you wanted. But now, you need to leave. We are putting her under until we can get her stabilized. I'm sorry, but that's all the time I can give you." He motions for Danny to leave.

Bowing his head, Danny walks out and into the corridor. Looking up, he sees Kono and Chin on the other side of the glass doors. Moving quickly, he changes clothes and goes out to them.

"Anything?" Kono asks.

"Yeah, she gave me a name. Ian. No, no last name. I was lucky to get that. She's in so much pain, I feel so foul getting what I did. They had to sedate her, the pain became so bad." He looks from one to the other. "I want who did this. I want him bad. We need to find him. He's someone Maggie knows, so go through what you can, Kono. Log into her files and try finding anyone she's dealt with in the past." Turning to Chin, "Chin, go to the lab. They should be getting evidence in by now. Go through everything. There's gotta be something to help us." He turns away.

"What you gonna do, brah?" Chin asks.

"I'm gonna call Hammond. If this is someone from her past, he should know. He can't avoid giving us any info this time. If I have to get on a plane and get it from him in person, I will." He walks away, pulling out his phone.

Chin looks at his cousin, nods and walks away. Kono grabs her bag and pulls out her laptop, determined to get whatever intel she can.

"Hammond, this is Detective Danny Williams." He barks into his phone.

"Detective, how can I help you?" Bryce answers, surprised to hear from him.

"I'm surprised you don't know considering the close eye you seem to keep on Maggie." His voice is filled with contempt.

"What's happened?" Bryce is suddenly on alert. Turning to his computer, he logs in.

Danny takes a breath, realizing he needs to remain somewhat calm. "Maggie and Steve were abducted, tortured and left to die in a building which was then demolished."

"WHAT?! When did this happen? Are they okay? Who did this?" Bryce jumps to his feet.

"We don't know, but I was able to get a name from Maggie."

"She's conscious? I need to talk to her."

"Not any more. Listen, I don't have time to go into details. I'll have Kono send you everything but I need to know if this name means anything to you."

"What do you mean, not anymore? Is she okay? Tell me, Detective!" He yells into the phone.

Rolling his eyes, Danny does a quick count to ten before continuing. "I will tell you everything we know but I need to know if this name means anything to you. She gave me the name of Ian. That's all I could get before the pain became too much. Does that name mean anything to you?" He hears silence on the other end. "Hammond? You still there?"

"You sure that's the name she gave you?" He asks quietly.

"Yes. She confirmed it. Why? Who is it, Hammond? Who is this Ian?"

Bryce sighs deeply. "Detective, what about Steve? I should really only be talking to him."

Danny grits his teeth, wanting to throw his phone at the wall. "I told you, they were both tortured. Steve is in isolation right now due the immense amount of pain he's in. Once they know he's not bleeding into his brain, he'll be in placed in a medically induced coma. They're waiting to take Maggie back into surgery to repair her shoulders, as this bastard pulled both completely out of their sockets. Neither is in any shape to speak with you so you're stuck talking to me, Hammond. Now, who is this Ian?" He demands.

Realizing this team needs to know who they're dealing with, he capitulates. "Ian Doherty. He was the first undercover assignment Maggie worked."

"The five year op?"

Surprised he knows that, Bryce continues. "Yes. At the trial, he vowed to get his revenge on her. She moved on after that and never looked back. I guess with her out in the open now, he was able to find her once he got out of prison."

"How in hell did he get out of prison?"

"He served his sentence."

"He served his…no parole? How did he only get twenty years?"

"We were able to get him on weapons and trafficking but the RICO charges fell through along with any murder charges. We had corroborating evidence on the first two, but the rest was dependent on Maggie's testimony. Doherty's lawyers basically put her on trial and because of the fact that she had been sleeping with him most of the time she was with him and made no effort to stop any of the murders, her testimony was thrown out and she was almost charged herself. I managed to keep her out of jail, but the damage was done. So, he was given twenty years and that time was up a couple of months ago. She knew he was out so I was shocked when she decided to stay there, unprotected and out in the open."

"So, he's free to travel anywhere he wants? No restrictions?"

"Well, I mean, he's being watched if he goes out of the country, but since Hawaii is not out of country, we had no notification of his travel itinerary. No idea he was on his way to her."

"Son-of-a-bitch! Well, he needs to be put on a no fly list immediately. We need to make sure he doesn't leave this island." He looks down as his phone beeps. "I need to take this, Hammond. Hold on." He switches to the other call. "Jerry, what's up?"

"Dude, someone stopped by earlier and gave me the creeps."

"Why are you calling me now? And who was it?"

"I have no idea who it was. He wouldn't give me his name. I tried calling you earlier but you never answered. I left three messages. Never heard back so I'm calling again. This guy said he needed to speak to McGruff and when I told him he wasn't available, he insisted on waiting…and waiting in his office. I told him I had no idea how long it would be and he could always wait downstairs but he could not wait in the Commanders office. He was not happy, but finally left."

"What did he look like?"

"Normal guy. About my height, maybe hundred eighty pounds, dark hair, blue eyes. Nothing special."

"Why's he stick out in your mind, Jer?"

"He came up here asking for McGarrett. Unless he doesn't watch or listen to the news, he would've known the boss was missing. Why ask for him?"

Danny goes on high alert, "Jerry, how long ago was this?"  
"Been a few hours now. I left you messages. Check the first one. I left it right after he walked out of here." Danny looks at his messages and sees the first one from Jerry was over four hours ago. "Dammit. Jerry, gather all the footage from the internal cameras, all entrances and every camera in the place. When you find him, follow him out of HQ and as far as the traffic cams will get you. I wanna know where this guy went when he left. Call me as soon as you get something." He switches back over to Hammond. "He was at the Palace."

"What? When?"

"A little over four hours ago. The call I just took was from our special consultant still back at HQ and he said a strange guy came in asking for Steve after the news had broken that he was missing. It had to be this Doherty."

"But why?"

"Jerry said he wanted to wait in Steve's office. Maybe whatever info he got is somewhere in Steve's office. But the only info would either be on the computer, which he couldn't get access elsewhere or in Steve's safe."

"What would be in his safe?"  
"I have no idea. He doesn't show me what he puts in there. It's mostly personal stuff he doesn't want kept at the house. Figures its safe at HQ."

"Okay, well, I've put him on the no fly list and added his name to the most wanted list. Any activity on his cards, bank accounts or any type of travel will alert us."

Danny leans against the wall, head and shoulders back, free hand at his side. "Why does he have so much anger against Mags? I mean, sure she brought him and his network down, but to do what he did to her and Steve? It's more than that."

"He lost everything because of her. When he was brought down, sure, he lost his network, all his money and all his toys, but he also lost his family. His wife took the kids and left him. She went back to her parents, who were worth twice as much as Doherty and vowed that he would never see his kids again. Now, they're grown and they want nothing to do with their father so it was like losing them all over again. That just added fuel to his fire that started burning twenty years ago when he was first put away. He vowed to take her family away from her when she least expected it."

"Her family? I mean, I know her brother had moved here to Oahu. And Steve mentioned she was married but that he left her. What family?"

He hears Bryce sigh on the other end. "That's partially true. He did leave, but not in the way you think. Maggie met Tyler about a year before she was extracted from that assignment. It was a miracle that they ever got together. She told him what she did and what was going on and he had no fear. He stood by her through some tough times, especially when she found out she was pregnant."

Danny stands up straight, eyes big, frozen in place. "Pregnant? She has children?"

Bryce rolls his eyes, not sure how much she's told them. "Yeah. She and Tyler spent any spare time she had together and she got pregnant. We tried to move fast to get her out before she really started to show but we couldn't get her out before Doherty noticed. He'd insisted on her giving the baby up so we ended the op abruptly and he vowed to take away her family.

Their son was born about four months after she was out and then they were married. Doherty made some serious threats. By the time the trial was done and over with, those threats were becoming real. Maggie made a tough decision and sent her son and husband into WITSEC to keep them safe. Her son was eighteen months old. They were taken in the middle of the night and she's not seen them since. She has no idea where her son is, even though he's almost twenty years old. And it's just for this reason. As long as Doherty's alive and out, they are in danger. I don't even know where they are."

Danny's shaking his head, having a hard time understanding and believing what he's hearing. _She has a son? She's never said anything about a son. But I guess, in trying to protect him, she would keep it a secret. Still…damn, Steve is gonna drop on this one! Wait a minute…_ "Bryce, I think I know what he was looking for in Steve's office. Dammit, he's known and didn't say anything to any of us. Damn him!"

"What? What are you talking about, Detective?"

"I may not know Maggie like you do, but I do know Steve. At some point, she told him about her son and what happened. Steve wouldn't just let that go. I know he would use any sources available to him and he would get a location on her son. I'm willing to bet the info is in his safe and somehow, Doherty got it out of him. I don't know how, but he did. That's what he was after. Son-of-a-bitch!" He runs his hand through his hair, knowing he's right.

"You think he got the info out?"

"No. Jerry didn't allow him into the office so it's still there. But I gotta be sure that office is guarded. No, I don't know the combination to his safe, so I can't get it out, but no one outside of the team is getting into that office." He pulls up his message center and types out a quick text. "Bryce, how did she get involved with Doherty? I mean, he's taking this to a whole 'nother level. This is more than just simple revenge."

"In the depositions, he said that he actually fell in love with her. He was ready to leave his wife and marry her; he had such strong feelings for her. When he found out that she was undercover AND was carrying another man's baby, he lost it. He tried to escape on three different occasions, stating he was going to kill her and her family. Doherty was big into the sex trade business when she went in. He took girls off the street who were homeless and had no one, so no one would come looking for them, and put them to work. He didn't care if they were hurt or tortured or even killed. There were plenty more. Maggie went in as a former college student whose parents disowned her and she wound up on the street. She spent two months learning everything she could about being a pre-med student. It was amazing. Of course, her eidetic memory certainly helped. She then went out and lived on the streets for a month, establishing a presence. When she was picked up, she was probably the cleanest one there and as soon as Doherty saw her, he was hooked. She moved into his inner circle so fast, her handlers at the time couldn't keep up. That didn't faze her, though. She stuck with it and though she went a little too far, climbing into bed with him, she really didn't have a choice. If she'd turned him down, he would've killed her. His wife knew he always had someone on the side, but Maggie was different. He fell head over heels for her and put her in her own place where he spent more than half his time with her. He believed everything about her and she never dropped cover. She became Eileen Martins."

"Fuck. He's not gonna give up, is he?"

"No. He won't. Not until he finds her son and kills him…and then her."

Danny looks around and sees Kono walking fast towards him. "What is it? Steve? Maggie?" He says to her, holding the phone away from him.

"WHAT?" He hears from the phone. "What's happening?"

"He's gone, Danny."

"What do you mean, 'gone'?"

"I received a notification for an Ian Doherty and I figured you must've figured out who it was and I followed up. He left the island two hours ago."

"DETECTIVE!" He hears over his phone. Holding a finger up to Kono, he brings the phone back up to his hear.

"We got bad news."

"I know. I just got the alert, too. He's off the island and has gone somewhere I don't think you're gonna be able to get him."

Looking at Kono, Danny asks, "Where?"

"Colombia." Both Kono and Bryce answer.


	10. Chapter 9

Doherty: The Family Comes Together

Danny hangs his head, putting his free hand against the wall in front of him. "Can we get the plane to turn around?"

Kono shakes her head. "They're already out in international waters. There's nothing we can do."

"Bryce?"

"Sorry, nothing I can do either. Once they're in international waters, I can't stop them."

"What about once he lands? I mean, we have a treaty with them. Can't we get him back?"

"Detective, I don't think so. He's had ties down there for years and I'm sure they are more than willing to protect him. Especially once he tells them who he tried to take down. I mean, as far as he knows, they're dead. Taking down two members of Five-0 makes him a hero down there."

Danny pounds his hand against the wall. "Dammit, why can't we get a break?" He turns, leans against the wall and slides down, knees pulled up to his chest.

"Listen, Danny, whatever I can do to help, do not hesitate to call. I'll be here for a couple more days and then I'm on a plane there. Don't tell me no. I will be there in four days, okay? Whatever you need before then, just call."

"Thank you. But you don't have to come."

"Yes, I do. I'm as close to family as Maggie has right now and she needs family there. I know you have all taken her in, but I need to be there to make sure. I will have some things in place for the two of them for their recovery. Don't worry, Danny, they will be well taken care of. I will let you know once I get there."

Danny stands, nodding his head. "Again, thank you, Bryce. I just hope they're both still here when you get here." He looks at Kono. Her face shows all the grief she's feeling. "I'll keep you updated with any changes."

"Got it. Take care." Bryce disconnects the line.

"Danny, they're gonna be fine and we'll get this guy. Don't worry." She puts a hand on his shoulder.

"From your mouth to God's ears." He replies, heading back to the waiting area.

H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50

Danny shifts in the chair, trying to find a more comfortable position but knows it's useless. He's been in this chair for the last two days, leaving only for physical needs. Looking at the bed again, he puts out his hand for the umpteenth time to take the hand lying on the bed in his and then thinks twice. He doesn't want to cause more pain, but he can't find a place to make that all-important contact he needs to make. Everywhere he looks, there's either a bandage or bruise.

For the last two days, they've been slowly weaning Steve off the meds and trying to bring him out of the coma. Danny hasn't left his side since they let him know and he's getting worried that his brother hasn't woken up yet. He can't even touch him for fear of hurting him more than he already is. He glances down as he feels his phone vibrate. Pulling it out of his pocket he sees a text from Kono:

***Any change?***

****Nothing. Still out here. You?****

***No. Bryce hasn't left her side. I'm coming your way.***

Danny nods, stuffing the phone back in his pocket. The need to have some kind of contact with his brother overcomes him and he places his hand on the bed next to his hip, pressing lightly against it. "Come on, Steve. Wake up. You know you want to. Lying around in bed has never been your strong suit. So wake up and let's get you out of here." He says quietly. Not turning, he hears the door open and close and a firm, yet gentle hand, grips his shoulder. Sighing heavily, he just bobs his head up and down. "How is she?"

"Temp's still high…steady around 102F. Spiking regularly as high as 104F. She's fighting the meds, Danny. They are constantly having to pack her in ice and cooling blankets to keep that temp at manageable level. If they can't keep it down there could be permanent brain damage. The infection is all over, Danny, and they can't seem to control it. She may not have died in the explosion, but she still may from the complications." Her voice is heavy with concern and fear.

Sighing again, he takes her hand in his. "We can't think that way, Kono. She's lasted these last six days, after going in for surgery on both shoulders and internal bleeding. She's also fighting to stay with us. I'll take her will power over body chemistry any day."

"I hope you're right." She squeezes his hand. "How about you take a short walk, brah? Stretch your legs. I'll sit here with him. Promise."

He shakes his head. "I can't. I need to be here when he wakes up."

"He won't be alone, Danny. I promise. But you need to get out of here, even for a few minutes. You're not gonna do anyone any good if you make yourself sick. Take a walk; get something to eat; maybe a cup of coffee. Just go. I'll be here when you get back. Steve won't be alone and if he does happen to wake up, I'll text you." She smiles down at him. Nudging his shoulder with her hip, she tries to push him out of the chair.

"Kono." He warns her.

"Okay, go check on Maggie, then, and talk to Bryce. He's sitting there blaming himself for all of this. He swears that if he'd circumvented Maggie and gone straight to Steve, maybe this wouldn't have happened. They would've been on alert and looking for Doherty. He's hurting, Danny, as much as we all are and I think he could use some male company."

He looks up at her and nods. Slowly getting up, stretching out his aching limbs and walks out to the nurse's station. Hearing a cacophony of voices, he looks around trying to find them. Walking over to the nurse sitting at the desk, he sees a waiting room full of people on the screen in front of her. Glancing up at him, she smiles. "There a lot people down there waiting on these two. We've never had this many in here at any one time for several patients, to say the least two. But I can't turn this off. Listening to everyone down there talk about these two is amazing. The love and concern in everyone's voices and their eyes is something I've never seen. Brings tears to my eyes." She consoles the detective. She's volunteered for any extra time she can to be here for these people. The amount of love flowing from those down in the waiting area and from the three up here for the two fallen members of Five-0 is something she knows she will only experience once in this lifetime. As selfish as it may seem, she wants to be part of it. She wants to do whatever she can to help these two survive.

Danny watches the screen for a few seconds, his heart swelling at the sight of all those here supporting Steve and Maggie. He smiles at the nurse and walks over to Maggie's room. He sees Bryce sitting next to the bed having the same problem Danny has with Steve…trying to find a place for human contact without causing more pain. He walks over and places his hand on Bryce's shoulder. Without looking up, Bryce nods his head and motions to the chair next to him. "Any change?" He asks.

"No. He's still unconscious. They're not sure if it's a coma or something else. It's all a game of wait and see." He glances up as an alarm goes off and then silences.

"It does that with any small change in her temperature. It's been slowly climbing over the last hour or so. It started at 101.4 and is now at 102.8." His breath hitches in his throat as he thinks about how wrong this has gone. "I'm so sorry, Detective. I should've expected that Doherty would hunt her down but I never thought he would do something like this. Maybe if I'd gone straight to Steve and let him know this psycho was out he could've put something in place to alert you all to his arrival on the island. But, for her privacy, I informed Maggie of his release and just assumed she would tell you." Unable to stay away from her, he gently puts his hand on her knee, it being one of the few places that didn't have any cuts or bruises. "I take full responsibility for this situation." His voice breaks on the word responsibility.

"Bryce, you can't blame yourself for this. The only one to blame is Doherty. One hundred percent. And when I get my hands on him, he's gonna feel all the pain he put these two through. I mean ALL of it." He voice is hard and his eyes ice blue steel.

The alarm goes off again but this time doesn't stop. Danny stands, looking at the machines wondering what's happening. Bryce looks at the one monitoring her temperature and moves to her head as the door opens. The nurse comes in, looks at the machines and looks at the two of them. "You need to leave. Please, we need the room in here."

"What's happening?" Danny quizzes her.

"Her temp is spiking again. We need the room to cool her down, so please, leave NOW." She emphasizes the last word.

As Danny reaches for Bryce, more alarms go off and he sees Maggie start to shake on the bed. "What the hell? What's going on?"

The nurse turns to him, holding out her hands and ushering them both out the door and more nurses, orderlies and a doctor come running. She allows them in the room and turns to go in herself.

"Please, what's going on?" Bryce asks her.

She turns to him, "Her temp has spiked at close to 105 and she's seizing. If we can't get it down in the next couple of minutes, she may never wake up. Please excuse me." She goes back in, closing all the blinds. A commotion from behind him alerts Danny to a change in his brother's room just as he hears Kono's voice.

"Danny, get in here!"


	11. Chapter 10

Doherty: Recovery Begins

He runs to Steve's room, seeing him completely awake and struggling to get out of bed. "What the hell do you think you are doing, Steven McGarrett?" Danny yells at him.

Without looking at him, Steve tries to get himself untangled from the bed sheet. "Something's happening to Maggie. I need to get over there."

"No, no, NO!" Danny moves to him, not sure how he's gonna keep him on the bed without hurting him. He feels more bodies enter the room and two orderlies and Steve's doctor come in. Immediately, they carefully grab the former Navy SEAL and force him back on the bed. Even in his weakened state, along with the amount of pain he's experiencing, he fights back, insisting he needs to be in there with her. Danny watches as they manhandle his partner back into a prone position, placing soft restraints on him, but not before he gets one orderly in the eye and the doctor across the jaw. Once restrained, the doctor picks up a small vial and syringe as the uninjured orderly ushers he and Kono out of the room. Looking around him, both rooms are now closed off and blinds closed so he cannot see what's happening. Frustration wins out and he walks down the corridor and yells under his breath.

"Whoa, Danny, calm down. Someone will be out soon to let us know what's going on. But it's good news that Steve has so much strength even with all his injuries." She tries to look on the bright side.

"Yeah, and the Neanderthal's gonna cause more damage and possibly hurt himself more because of it." He replies.

Danny then sees the doctor walk out of Steve's room and he approaches him. "How is he, doc?"

"He's been lightly sedated. Otherwise, he was going to hurt himself along with the orderlies. I'll tell ya, even with all his injuries, he's still quite strong." He rubs at his jaw.

"Sorry bout that, doc. When he gets a head of steam behind him, he's hard to stop." Danny apologizes.

"I'm all right, but he's quiet now. He does keep asking about Agent Finneran. He seems exceptionally concerned about her."

"Considering what they went through, I'm not surprised. Any chance I can see him?"

"Certainly. He's been asking for you."

Danny walks in, looking at Steve lying back on the pillows, eyes closed. Sitting down in the chair next to the bed, he sees Steve open his eyes. "Hey, buddy, how ya doing? Getting settled back down?"

"Yeah, they have me on some good drugs right now, keeping me calm." He smiles at Danny.

"Well, they had to do something. You gave one orderly a black eye and got the doc across the jaw." Danny grins.

"Sorry. Didn't mean it." He smiles again.

Danny can see that the smile is forced and his partner is still in a great deal of pain. "Fess up, Steve. How much pain are you really in?"

Steve looks at him without moving his head. "I'll be fine, Danny. No worries. What about Maggie? What happened? What was all that activity? Why are all the blinds closed?" Danny sighs. He's not sure how Steve will react to the recent update. "Tell me, Danno. What's going on?"

"While I was in there with Bryce, her temp spiked. It went up to 105 and she started to convulse. They've been fighting a fever ever since the two of you first came in, but she's also been fighting any drugs they've been giving her, too. They all but buried her in ice and cooling blankets to try and lower her temp but with the seizing, their main concern now is brain damage." He takes a deep breath, waiting for Steve to try to get out of bed again.

In an out-of-character move, he remains completely still. Danny's not sure what's going on or why his brother is being uncharacteristically calm, but it sets him even further on edge. He shifts forward in his seat, looking closely at Steve.

Steve gives Danny his best frown as he moves closer. He knows he should be trying to jump out of bed and rush to Maggie's side but the amount of pain he's feeling, especially in his head, keeps him from moving at all.

 _But don't tell him that! He'll have a doctor in here in a minute, possibly putting me out again and that's the last thing I want. I'll suck it up for right now. I want to be awake for any updates on her._

"What else?"

Danny takes another deep breath. "They're worried about the strain on her remaining kidney. This type of stress on her body could cause major organ damage and the first to go will be her liver and kidney. She's being closely watched and nothing yet, but if they can't get her temp down…she could be in real trouble." He watches for any change in Steve. Physically, he doesn't move but he sees the changes on his face.

"Dammit! She's gone through so much in her life, why can't she get a break? Why can't they just leave her alone?" He muses aloud.

"Yeah, kinda left a few things out, didn't you?" He sits back in the chair, convinced Steve's not going anywhere.

Steve moves his eyes back to Danny's face. "What do you mean?"

"Well, kinda forgot to mention a son?" He watches Steve's face go from worried to sheepish.

"I figured that was for her to tell you and the team. It's not my story to tell."

Danny forcibly shakes his head. "But it directly affects this team and we needed to know that. Seems Doherty went to HQ to try to get in your safe. Maybe to get some information about this mysterious son?"

Steve looks alarmed. "He didn't get in, did he?"

"Of course not, Steven. Sure scared the hell out of Jerry, though. Freaked him right out. Called me half a dozen times, left three messages until he finally got hold of me."

Steve wants to shake his head but the pain hovering right at the base of his skull keeps him from moving. "What balls. Going to my office after leaving us to die…he's got big ones." He comments.

"Gives you an idea of the type of person we're dealing with?"

"Most definitely, Danny. This guy is nuts! He feels no mercy or sympathy. He has no regard, really, for human life. I know if he gets his hand on Maggie's son, he'll kill him without hesitation. He can't get his hands on that flash drive."

Well, now, Danny knew what the info was and how it is being stored. It's a start. "Don't worry, Steve, someone is going to be in the office at all times…24/7. If it's not one of us, it'll be someone from the HPD. But I don't think he'll be trying anytime soon."

"Why not?"

"A couple hours after his stop at HQ, he was on a plane off the island."

Steve eyes him again. "Where?"

"Colombia."

Steve closes his eyes in acknowledgement. Opening them back up, he sees movement out of the corner of his eye. "What's going on, Danny?"

Danny looks out the door and sees Bryce walking away from Maggie's room. Standing up, he moves to the door. "Bryce, what's going on? Is she okay?"

Steve tries to sit up, concern flooding his face. Danny glances back at him, hearing the hiss of pain. "Lay back, you animal! What are you doing?" He moves back over to the bed, placing a hand gently on Steve's shoulder. "You need to lie still or they're gonna knock you out again!" He whispers. Steve lies back on the bed as Bryce walks into the room. Nodding at Danny, he walks over to the side of the bed.

"Good to finally meet you, Commander, though I wish it were under different circumstances." He starts to hold out his hand then realizes his mistake and puts it back down. "I would ask how you are, but I can see. I'm so sorry this happened. We were trying to keep an eye on him but not tracking him domestically. We won't make that mistake again."

Steve studied him. "What about Maggie? What's going on over there?"

Bryce shakes his head. "They can't get her temperature down. They've got her covered in ice and cooling blankets and it won't drop below 104. If it stays there much longer, there will be no doubt of brain damage…if she survives." His voice breaks on the last words. Steve can see the suffering of this man all over his face.

 _He blames himself for all of this._

"Bryce, don't. You can't blame yourself." Steve consoles.

"Give it up buddy." Danny says. "Been through that with him already. He's almost worse than you when it comes to guilt."

Steve slowly turns his head so he can see out the glass of his room and across the way to her blocked room. All the blinds are drawn and the door is closed. "No, Bryce, it's my fault. I should've been able to protect her. You handed her over to me to watch over and I failed. You can't blame yourself. I just can't figure out how they got to us."

Bryce shrugs his shoulders, not giving any of the blame over to Steve.

"I'll take this one." Danny pipes up. "Somehow, the son-of-a-bitch got a gas container into the truck's air flow system and put a sleeping gas in there. It incapacitated the two of you quickly and the truck went over the shoulder and down the slope. We found it an hour after you two had disappeared. Don't worry, buddy, it wasn't totaled. It can be fixed." He smiles at his brother.

Steve give a small grin, a full smile even hurting his face. "They must've done it during the night. Son-of-a-bitch! I'm starting to feel as though I need to put up a damn fence!"

"Cool your jets, SuperSEAL." Danny says. "Maybe you just need to put up cameras." He teases.

"Yeah, that'll stop them." The sarcasm drips from his voice. Moving his eyes to look out through the glass again, he sees movement in Maggie's room. "Danny, what's going on?"

Danny turns and sees the same movement. Nurses and orderlies come out of the room yet the blinds remain drawn. "I'll go see." He gets up, followed closely by Bryce. Steve watches as they approach the doctor now exiting the room. He watches as the doctor shakes his head, then nods, glances over at Steve's room and then shakes his head again. Steve tries to sit up, but the pain that strikes his head along with his arm and torso, is more than he can bear so he lies back against the pillows, breathing hard. Impatience at an all time high, he watches as Bryce and Danny talk to the doctor, both shaking their head and avoiding looking at Steve. Finally, Danny shakes the doctor's hand and moves back to Steve's room, a look of sadness on this face.

"No, Danny, she can't be. Don't even think about telling me that." Steve says before Danny can even get in the door. Danny looks up at him and sighs.


	12. Chapter 11

**Steve and Maggie continue their recovery. What is to be done when it is leaked that they are still alive? Read on...**

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 **Doherty: Recovery 2.0**

"No, I don't have that to tell you, but the news is not great." He watches as relief floods Steve's face.

"So, she's alive?"

Danny nods, sighing again. "She's alive, but far from out of the woods yet. Seems her fever did break, though it's not dropping as quickly as they'd like. Seems there's more than just the infection she's fighting. They can't figure out what it is that keeps her temperature up but at least it's down to a manageable level. Or at least a level where they're not worried about any permanent damage. But if they can't get it down soon, and keep it down, she could have other issues."

"Such as?" Steve tries to sit up again. Groaning more in frustration than pain, he manages to shift up a little on the bed. "I need to see her, Danny. Don't ask me to explain but I need to sit next to her."

"That's not happening, buddy. You see the kind of pain you're in right now just trying to shift on the bed? No way you can even think about sitting up in a chair. And no, we cannot just roll you into her room in the bed. No room."

"Danny, I need to see her. Please?" He almost begs.

Danny looks at his brother, the ache in his heart so apparent for one of his team members that he almost gives in. But he knows there's no way, in his condition, that Steve can even get out of his bed. "I'm sorry, Steve. You know you can't be moved. I promise you, I will keep you updated on her condition at all times." He glances back as Bryce comes out of her room. Walking slowly over, he slumps down into the empty chair. "What's going on, Bryce?" Danny inquires.

He sighs deeply. "I just can't believe this is happening. She stays out here to make a new life for herself…and I'm so glad she did, believe me. Yet her old life won't let her go. She knew that there would some pissed off people from her past, but this? No, I never thought anyone would go this far. Not this far and leave her alive."

"Again, I don't think they were supposed to survive. If he knew they were alive, I'm betting he'd be back here to finish the job." Danny comments. Bryce looks at him, surprise on his face. He pulls out his phone, glances at the time and stands up.

"I need to make a call. I'll be right back." He moves out into the hallway.

"What's that about?" Steve asks.

"Not sure but I hope it's nothing serious. God knows we don't need any more bad news." Steve nods and closes his eyes.

Twenty minutes later, they see Bryce going back into Maggie's room, closing the door behind him. Steve sighs, knowing there's someone in with her and closes his eyes, again. Soon, Danny can hear the steady breathing and knows his partner has fallen into a light sleep. He wishes Steve would allow them to sedate him for awhile so he could get some good sleep but he'll take whatever he can get.

Hours later, Danny sees several people park themselves outside Steve and Maggie's rooms. Not sure what is going on, he leaves his brother's side and goes out the door. "Who are you?" He asks the large man standing on his right. The man looks at him and points to Maggie's room. Danny, having an idea what's going on now, walks over. Before he can get his hand on the door, another hand snakes out and grabs it. "What the hell?" He all but yells.

"I'm sorry but I can't let you go in there."

Danny glares at him. He pulls out his badge and pushes it into the guys face. "This allows me to go anywhere I damn please! Now let go of my hand before I put you down!" He says through gritted teeth. The guard looks at the badge and shrugs his shoulders.

"Sorry, but my orders are NO ONE gets in this room besides the boss."

"What are we dealing with here? This is not the mob. Fine, then get the boss out here. Get Hammond out here right now!" He demands.

Before the guard can move, the door opens and Bryce looks out. "What's going on here?"

"Just what I was wondering, Bryce. This guy won't let me into Maggie's room. Who are these guys?"

Bryce shakes his head. "When you made the comment about Doherty and these two still being alive, I realized they needed round the clock protection and so I brought in some local agents to keep watch. I'm not letting anyone but those approved by me get into these rooms, Danny. Doherty will try and kill these two, if given the chance."

"I appreciate that, but they need to know Five-0 is good. Did you tell them?" Bryce looks at the two outside Maggie's room and nods his head back in the room. Danny follows, glaring at the agent, daring him to stop him again. He just nods and lets Danny pass. He waits until Bryce closes the door before speaking again. "What the hell, Bryce? I showed him my badge and he just shrugged. What did you tell these guys? Am I gonna have an issue getting back into Steve's room?"

"I'm sorry, Danny, they just got a little overzealous. I had to set this all up quickly. I told them Five-0 was good, but they are all trying to get off this island and don't want to disobey an order. I had to settle for what I could get on such short notice. I have a request in for agents from the mainland, ones that I've worked with before, to come out here and keep an eye on these two until they fully recover. I have spread the word here that no one is to give out any information on these two, no matter who is asking; a complete information blackout. I've also set up to have them moved to one of the safe houses here on the island. No, I know, they're not in any shape to be moved right now but this place has full medical facilities on the grounds along with a PT room, lap pool and it is completely wheelchair accessible. They would be able to recover without having to worry about anyone finding them, especially Doherty. It's out of the way, on the North Shore, with only one way in and out. A security fence surrounds the entire compound, camouflaged, along with cameras and motion sensors. No one gets in without being seen. They'll be completely safe. I promise, Danny. They can recover with no worries."

Danny studies the man for a moment. He can see how much he cares for the woman lying in the bed, fighting for her life right now. But there's something more…more than just a boss looking out for his employee. More than a father-figure. He watches as Bryce sits down on the chair next to the bed and gently places his hand on Maggie's knee, creating that ever-needed human contact. He understands that feeling since he feels the same way about his brother on the other side of the ICU. He watches Bryce's face as he watches Maggie breathing, her face morphing between pain, fear and peace. The look in his eyes is one Danny's seen before. Love. He smiles at the thought of that. This man will do anything for her, no matter what she does. He's going to the ends-of-the-earth to be sure she's safe. He didn't need to come here to the island but he never hesitated and was here while she was still in surgery. He nods and places a hand on Bryce's shoulder. "Thank you, Bryce. I know you just want her to be safe." He looks up at her as a whimper escapes her throat.

"Shhhh, Mags, it's all right. You're safe. He can't hurt you. I won't let him." Bryce tries to comfort her.

She continues to whimper, her face screwing up into a look of pain and terror. "Steve…" She says, moaning loudly and thrashing within the restraints around her. Bryce, a momentary look of betrayal crossing his face, stands up and places his hand on her forehead.

"You're safe, _querido_ , he can't hurt you. It's okay," he comforts her. Slowly she calms down and falls back into a deep sleep. Bryce sits back down, hand back on her knee.

Danny turns and moves back out the door, knowing she's in good hands. He walks back over to Steve's room, nodding at the agents at the door and goes back in. Sliding into the chair by the bed, he gently lays a hand his brother's right arm, making that ever-needed contact.

"Danny, I'm worried. Neither of them seems to be getting any better." Kono voices her concerns two days later.

"I know, Kono. I don't know what to do, though. Maggie seems to be fighting whatever it is that still has her unconscious and feverish but Steve just lies there all day, moaning about how much pain he's in. I believe he's in pain, but it's not like him to let it get the best of him. He keeps asking to see Maggie but every time he tries to move, the pain is unbearable."

Kono looks towards Steve's room, shaking her head. She'd been relieved to see the agents outside the rooms the first time she came in after they'd been posted. She had been worried about Doherty coming back or sending someone in to try to finish the job. So now her main concern is the uncharacteristic reaction her boss was having to the pain. And the fact that he'd not asked once to get out of the hospital, well, that was most disturbing of all.

"Hey, he's gonna be fine. He just needs to get past the pain. You know as well as I do that he's never experienced anything this extreme before and then to watch what they did to Maggie? I think it's affected him in more ways than we'll ever know." Danny places a hand on her shoulder.

"I hope you're right." She turns, hearing a loud commotion. "What's going on?" She moves out of the way of stretchers and orderlies, doctors and nurses.

Danny looks over at Maggie's room and sees Bryce come out. "Hammond, what's going on?" He watches one stretcher go into Maggie's room and the other into Steve's. "What are they doing?"

"We just got word that someone called asking about Maggie and Steve. I know, I know, Danny, we thought we got to everyone but apparently we missed a part-time nurse who didn't get the word that these two are not here. She gave out the information and I'm not willing to take any chances. We're moving these two to the safe house today. Right now." He motions to the agents to help.

"Wait, Bryce, they can't be moved. And what's to stop Doherty's crew from following once we leave the hospital?" Danny turns from one room to the other, not sure what to do.

"They aren't to be transported by ambulance. They are both going by unmarked vehicles that will just look like anyone else leaving after visiting a loved one. There will be four bogus ambulances leaving here at the same time for them to follow. Don't worry, Danny, we have this under control. We have done this a few times." He smiles at Danny.

Danny, not putting his faith in anyone else, motions for Kono to go to Maggie's room and he moves to Steve's. "Danny, what's going on? What are all these people doing in here?" Steve asks as soon as he sees him.

"Don't worry, Steve. You and Maggie are being moved to the safe house today. There was a bit of a breach and we need to get the two of you out of here." He moves to the corner of the room, staying out of the way. The two orderlies and nurses are prepping him to be moved, connecting all the wires, tubes and equipment up to the portable machines for transport. Danny keeps a close eye on his brother, looking for any signs of pain or distress.

"What about Maggie? Is she being moved? She can't be moved. You said she's not had any change in her status in the last two days. She's not even been conscious. How can they move her?" He grunts as they start to move him to the gurney. "Shit, careful!" He hisses out under his breath.

"I'm sorry, Commander, but we need to get you moved quickly." One of the nurses says, looking at Danny. "Are you traveling with him?"

"Damn straight. Where he goes, so do I." He looks back at Steve. "She's being moved, too, Steve. They're bundling her up just like you for transport. Listen, I know it dangerous in her condition, but if Doherty's crew finds the two of you here, it will be a bloodbath here in the hospital and we don't want that. She's safer being moved than staying here, Steve. Don't worry, Hammond has this all under control and you know he won't let anything happen to her."

Steve nods, pain showing on his face as he's moved from the bed to the gurney. Grunting again as they strap him in, he tries to look over at Maggie's room. He can see the chaos as they prepare her for transport. "Are we going in the same vehicle?" He groans out as they roll him out of the room.

"No. I'm riding with you and Kono will be with her. You are both going in unmarked vehicles while decoy ambulances head in different directions. You each take up too much room to put you together. Kinda like getting you both here in the first place. Two choppers. But it's a long drive, Steve."

"Yeah, so?" He grimaces as they move him down the corridor into the elevator.

"Yeah, so, you see how much pain you're in and they just moved you into an elevator? The ride is gonna be a hundred time worse so they're gonna sedate you for the duration."

He moves away from Steve, not wanting to be within reach.

"No, Danny, I can make it. You know how much I hate being put to sleep. I'll be fine." He grimaces again as the exit the elevator.

"Ah-ha. That hurts, huh? 'Nough said. You're going to let them give you the sedative and pain meds and you'll sleep the whole way and wake up refreshed and in a lot less pain. No arguing, Steven! Let the doctors do their jobs and trust that I will make sure you make it there safe and sound."

Between the pain in his leg, his arm and his head, Steve gives in. Danny nods at the nurse and watches as she dispenses the sedative into his IV. Slowly, Steve's eyes droop as he fights to stay awake but loses the battle and is soon breathing steadily and deeply.

He slowly reaches for consciousness, the buzzing in his ears a constant annoyance. As he surfaces, the buzzing becomes voices, loud enough to hear but low enough to not make out any words. He keeps his eyes closed, concentrating on the voices, trying to hear what's being said. He can make out his partners voice, recognizing the depth and timber. He'd know Danny's voice anywhere. As he concentrates on the voices, he takes a quick mental stock of himself. He doesn't feel near the pain he felt before leaving the hospital. His head doesn't hurt, even when he moves it. His leg aches, but not the sharp pain as before. Only his arm still feels as though a sharp needle is piercing it in several places and if he moves it, the pain shoots up to his shoulder and down to his fingertips. He draws in a sharp breath through his teeth and the voices stop. He hears the curtain move and footsteps come his way.

"Steve?" He hears a familiar voice, though almost a whisper.

"Hmmm. Here." He answers in a voice almost as low.

"How ya feelin'?"

"M'kay. Maggie?"

"She's here. She's fine. You both made the trip in good shape. No one followed us. Seems they did follow one of the decoy ambulances and discovered the transport of an elderly man to his family home. Upon returning to the hospital, they happen to overhear the tragic story of your death, Steve, from complications of your injuries. Maggie had passed two days earlier from the infection. They left with the information that you were both dead. Hopefully this will keep Doherty away for awhile. At least until the both of you have recovered fully."

Steve peels his eyes open, trying to find the blurry form that is his partner. "How long?" He mumbles.

Danny sighs loudly. "Steve, don't worry about that. You're feeling better, right? That's a good thing."

Despite the fact he still can't see him clearly, he gives the blurry figure is best SEAL death stare. "Daniel?"

"Two days. You've been here two days."

 **A/N: I appreciate all who are reading and those who comment. Any thoughts help the muse so let me know what you are thinking?**


	13. Chapter 12

**Doherty: When Will She Wake Up? Or Maybe If…**

"Two days? What? How?" He breathes deeply. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. It was the doctor's decision. Once you arrived, you started to wake up, but moaning and groaning in pain so he decided to keep you under again. You do feel better, don't you?" He gives Steve his goofiest grin.

He nods, rolling his eyes at Danny. "Yeah, but still, two days? What's happened? Any word on Doherty? Other than the two goons chasing their tails."

"We're on top of it, buddy. Doherty hasn't moved. He's still in Colombia. You need to back down, Steve. We can handle it. Bryce is giving us as much help as he can. He's got a full crew watching over this place along with state-of-the-art surveillance and alarm system. No one gets in, or out, without a key, pass-card and retina scan. You two are safer here than in your mother's womb."

"Very funny, Danny. What about Maggie? You said she's here. How is she? Is she awake? Has she said anything?"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there." Danny sits on the stool next to the bed. "Yes, she's here. No, she hasn't woke up."

"Danny, it's been almost two weeks since we were taken. I've been getting the same meds and I'm awake and fine. Why's she still out, Danny? What are the doctors saying?" Danny glances down at the floor and then over at the closed curtain. "Danny? What's wrong?"

"She's still fighting. Steve. As much as her fever broke and they have that infection under control, she's still fighting something."

"What do you mean, fighting? What could she be fighting? What happened?" He pushes himself up on the bed, ignoring any pain he feels.

Danny sighs, looking Steve in the eye. "Forensics came back on the weapons Doherty used on the two of you. The knife he stabbed Maggie with apparently had a second motive. It wasn't just to get her to bleed out. Because it remained in her, kept warm in her body cavity, the evidence survived and because it was processed so quickly they were able to find it."

"What, Danny? Quit stalling."

"There was some kind of virus on it, that when he stabbed her, he infected her. It's not what caused the infection. That was the dirt, grime and bacteria in that damn warehouse. This virus is affecting her immune system. It's eating away at it and causing internal damage to several of her organs. She's fighting it, Steve, but her body's starting to shut down. Doc says if they can't figure out what kind of virus it is so they can help with some kind of treatment, her organs are gonna start failing, liver and kidneys going first."

Steve lets his head fall back on the pillow, closing his eyes. "How long?"

"They don't know, Steve. As I said, she's fighting with everything she has but, with her existing medical conditions, she doesn't have much left. They've been working around the clock to ID the virus and hope to have something soon. The antibiotics are taking care of the initial infection now so that's not much of a threat anymore. Her shoulders are healing and once she wakes up they'll be able to determine the extent of the damage. It's just this damn virus!"

"I need to see her, Danny. No, more than just see her. I need to be next to her. I can't explain it, but I need to be there where she can feel me with her."

"Steve, she's right here next to you. You're in the same room now. You don't need to be risking your recovery to move ten feet."

"I do, Danny, and if you won't help me, I'll get a couple of these g-men to help me into that wheelchair over there and push me over. I need to be near her…I can't explain it Danny, but after what we went through, I need to be near her and be able to touch her, create that human contact. She needs that right now." He starts struggling to get into an upright position.

"Steven! Don't you dare!" Danny stands up, ready to wrestle him back down onto the bed.

"Don't do it, Danny. You know, even with the shape I'm in I can take you down. Now, get that damn chair over here." He manages to get sitting upright. At this point, the commotion brings the doctor from the other side of the curtain.

"What is going on here?" He asks, glaring at Steve who has one leg over the side of the bed, the injured one still propped up on top of the bed.

"I need to be near her, Doc. I can't explain it, but she needs to know I'm here and alive."

"Commander, you need to get back into that bed! You cannot be moving around."

"Too late." He removes the leads from his chest, the pulse ox from his finger, causing alarms to start blaring. "I'm gonna sit next to her with or without your help. If I have to stumble my way across the ten feet and sit on the damn floor, I'm doing it. Now, you can help to keep me from injuring myself any more by getting that damn chair and moving these IV bags to the chair so I can move in some comfort. But I am getting over to her bed." He glares at the doctor, his eyes dark and intense.

The doctor glances from Danny to Steve and back, finally nodding his head slightly. He moves to Steve's side and removes the two IV bags from their hooks, hanging them from the bar on the back of the chair. He moves to Steve's left side, carefully taking his arm and nods to Danny to take his other side and they slowly moves Steve to chair. Propping his right leg up and making sure the left arm was secure in the sling, the doctor steps back and looks at Steve.

"M'fine." He mumbles under his breath. His face is covered in sweat, red and pained. The grunting that keeps coming from him along with the white knuckles on his right hand grabbing on to the arm of the chair tell how much pain he's feeling. The doctor checks his pulse and looks into his eyes, shaking his head.

"Commander, I'm very concerned. Your pulse is elevated; you're breathing hard and sweating profusely. This is not good for you. You are putting yourself at risk right now."

"Give it up, Doc. That does not compute for him. Doesn't matter how much he's at risk. This goofball is gonna do what he's gonna do. You can't stop him so let's just get this over with. He'll be begging to be put back in bed in twenty minutes."

"Don't bet on it, Danny." Steve grunts out, nodding in Maggie's direction.

"Before you go over there, I need to set some boundaries." The doctor states. Steve nods and looks up at him, pain in his eyes. "Fine. If at any time I deem you are putting yourself at risk for a setback, I'm terminating this little visit of yours and putting you right back in bed." He glances up at Danny, who nods that he's told Steve what Maggie is going through. "She has not regained consciousness since that first day, but she is feeling pain, and a great deal of it. We are monitoring her brain and it indicates she is in a great deal of pain. We are giving her the maximum pain meds that we can in her condition but her pain is too great. The smallest touch or brush up against her causes spikes in her brain activity. This virus is eating away at her vital organs, very slowly, but still causing damage. If at any time I feel she's experiencing too much pain, possibly by being over stimulated, again, this visit ends. I am here to be sure the two of you recover and I take that responsibility very seriously. Do you understand?"

Steve nods, immediately, not wanting to waste any time. The last time he saw her, he was protecting her with his body waiting for the building to come down on them. He wasn't even sure if she was still alive but he had to protect her. He needs to see her still alive and be as close to her as humanly possible. He watches as the doctor pulls back the curtain and takes a deep breath when he sees her. He tries to control the sob that escapes his throat with the exhale of the breath he was holding. Even though it's been two weeks since they were tortured, the bruises are still evident all over her from the falling concrete along with the beatings she was given. They stand out against her pale skin, glistening with sweat. Her arms are immobilized with her lower right arm is in a soft cast all the way to the fingertips, which are still swollen and red. His eyes move back to her face, covered in bandages and bruises, gaunt and pale. The intubation tube, which had to be placed again, looks like a grotesque, plastic tongue hanging out of her mouth drawing her energy out instead of giving her life. The tubes and wires connected to her chest and arms, small tentacles grasping at her, wanting her blood and vital fluids instead of delivering the needed liquids. It is all just so wrong. She shouldn't be here fighting for her life. Not in this way. _Oh, Maggie, I'm so sorry. Sorry I couldn't stop him._ He nods to Danny, wanting him to push him over to the bed. Danny parks him as close as he can, nudging him right up next to the bed, his right leg pressing against it. Steve ignores the pain and reaches out to her, wanting to touch her; _needing_ to touch her. He needs to feel her warmth under his hand, feel her alive. Ignoring the doctor's warning, he lays his right hand gently on her hip, knowing that's one place she wasn't seriously injured. He can feel the heat coming off her body, even through the soft cast on his hand. Glancing up at the monitor as alarms go off, he looks back at her face. "Come on Maggie. Fight this shit." He whispers.

"Commander, please, I told you not to touch Agent Fanneran."

"Finn. Her name is Finneran." Steve corrects him, not moving his hand.

"Fine, but you need to remove your hand." He reaches out to take Steve's hand off his patient.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that, Doc. You need your hands to do your work." Danny warns him.

"Well, he needs to remove his hand. I told him she feels too much pain." He moves towards Steve again.

"Look at the monitors." Steve says with a low voice.

"Commander, please, if you don't remove your hand…"

"LOOK AT THE MONITORS." Steve states, emphatically, not taking his eyes off her face.

Danny and the doctor look at the monitors. The doctor steps closer, not believing what he's seeing. "What the hell?"

"What do you see?" Steve asks.

"I don't believe it. Her breathing has evened out; her pulse has slowed to a more reasonable level and and her blood pressure has dropped a small amount." He looks at Danny then at Steve, a look of confusion on his face. "What's going on?"

"She just needs to know someone is here. Someone who cares about her. She was so out of it at the hospital, she didn't realize Bryce was there. She's more aware now and she's been alone for the last two days, in pain and anguish."

"It makes no sense, Commander. None at all."

Steve grins, eyes still on her face. "Her last conscious memory is of pain; her arms torn out at the shoulders, cut and beaten. When she passed out, she was alone and terrified. She needs to know she's not alone. Human contact is more important than pain, right now. Her vitals are reflecting that." He gently increases the pressure on her hip, willing her to wake up; to fight the damn virus that Doherty infected her with. The doctor manually checks her vitals, still not believing the slight changes just because someone touches her. Getting the same results, he shakes his head.

He looks at Danny, not sure what to believe or do. He can't deny that her vitals have picked up. Only a small amount, but they have improved more than in the last few days. "Yes, Commander, her vitals have improved, _slightly_ , but her EEG indicates she's in pain. Please, remove your hand."

"No." He states. "If you think you can get me to remove it, go ahead and try. Otherwise, I'm gonna give her the human contact she needs." He stares at her face, wishing her to wake up.

The doctor motions to the two agents standing at the door. "Commander, my job is to be sure the two of you recover. I'm not going to let your sentimentality keep Agent Fanneran…"

"Finn. Finneran." Steve states, emphatically.

"Steve…" Danny puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, dammit, Danny, if he's so worried about her health, he should at least get her name right?" He takes a deep breath.

"Don't worry about it, Steve. It doesn't matter. All that matters is the TWO of you recovering. Okay? Both of you."

The two agents stop at the end of Maggie's bed. The doctor nods at Steve, needing the two of them to remove the reason she's feeling so much pain.

"Don't touch him. We don't need him in any worse shape." Danny holds out his hands to the two agents. "Steve, come on, man, go back to your bed. Let Mags heal."

He watches as Steve removes his hands and within seconds, all kinds of alarms start going off. The doctor goes to the machines, watching as her blood pressure rises, her breathing becomes labored, even with the vent and the EEG shows signs of increased pain. "See, she may feel pain when I touch her, but it's more when I'm not. Human contact is more important right now than how much pain she's feeling. She needs to know she's not alone. Danny…" He motions for Danny to place his hand on her other hip. Steve replaces his hand and listens as the alarms stop, one by one. But he never takes his eyes off her face. _Come on, Maggie. Come back to us…to me._

Danny looks at his brother as if he's crazy, but trusts his instincts and gently places his hand on her other hip. Almost immediately, her vitals drop even more toward normal and the pained look on her face softens a little. Danny gives his brother an amazed look, not sure why his touch would affect her so. "As I said, Danno, she just needs to know she's not alone." He settles back, hand remaining on her hip, eyes not leaving her face.

The doctor, not sure what's happening, decides she's better off with the contact and waves away the two agents. "Fine. But I'll be keeping an eye on you, Commander. You still have a long recovery ahead of you and I will not let you jeopardize it to sit in this chair."

Steve nods absently. He increases the pressure on her hip, trying to nudge her to consciousness. _Maybe if she's awake, she can fight this better. Come on, Maggie. Please._

Danny motions to one of the agents and he brings over a chair. Danny sits, not removing his hand, marveling at how his touch affected her. He hasn't been her biggest fan, but he wouldn't wish this upon his worst enemy. He wants to make sure both of them recover, and recover fully, so if Steve wants him to sit here, with a gentle touch on Maggie, he will do it. Maybe, if he sits here, he can convince Steve to get back into his bed for some needed rest and sleep.

Hours later, Danny, who had stepped out to update the rest of the team, came back in, and Steve hadn't moved. Danny had asked Steve if he thought it was ok for him to go out and make the call. Steve just nodded, his eyes still focused on her face.

"Yo, Danny, how's the two patients doing?" Lou picks up.

"Well, Mags is still unconscious. She's fighting. Doc says they're close to figuring out a treatment plan for her but has no idea if it will even help."

"What about our fearless leader?" Lou puts his phone down on the table, hitting speaker.

"He won't leave her side. He's just been sitting at her bedside, hand on her hip, believing that she needs the human contact. He's in pain but won't admit it. He insists on sitting by her until she wakes up."

"That's our Steve. You know he's not gonna leave her side until he knows she's gonna be okay."

"Is he okay, Danny?" Chin asks.

"As I said, he's struggling. He's in a lot of pain but refuses to acknowledge or get back in his bed. Seems his head and leg aren't bothering him as much, but his arm is another story. Crazy thing is, as soon as he put his hand on her, her vitals evened out. Then he had me sit on the other side of the bed, laying my hand on her other hip and they got even better. He said something about her needing to know she's not alone. Strange as it sounds, he's right. As long as she some kind of outside contact, she's calm and her vitals are good."

"Maybe you can convince him to get back into bed for awhile if you sit with her…or any one of us."

"I might just try that, Kono. If any of you wanna come out here before your scheduled shift, I could use the help."

"He he, we'll see." Chin answers. "At least we might be able to get him back into his bed for awhile. He needs to rest, too. Maybe we'll all come out a little before our shifts since he's awake."

"I think he'd appreciate it. If only to help Maggie." Danny glances back in the room. "He completely blames himself for all of this. I guarantee it. But there's nothing he could've done to prevent it or stop it."

"I'm sure he knows that, deep inside. But on the surface, he feels responsible for her. He wasn't able to stop this Doherty from hurting her, seriously, so we all know he's not gonna rest until he knows she's gonna be okay." Chin replies.

"I understand that, Chin, but he's gonna kill himself sitting here like this. He needs to recover, too. He's in bad shape, more so than we've seen him in a long time. He needs to take time and allow himself to heal. Sitting up like this for hours on end is just gonna delay his recovery. I just don't know how to convince him he needs to be in bed, resting."

"Don't worry, Danny, when we all get out there, we'll put our heads together and come up with a plan. Maybe having one of us sitting with her at all times, at least until she wakes up, will help put him at ease and allow him to rest." Kono chimes in.

"Yeah, we'll see. I hope so. Anyway, I'm gonna go back in and see if that idea will float. He's been sitting at her side for a few hours now. He's gotta be hurting. I'll let you know how it goes." He disconnects and walks back in. Standing next to Steve, he carefully places his hand on Maggie's shin. "Hey, buddy, why don't you take a break? Huh? I got her. I promise, I won't leave her side. Come on, man. You need to rest, too. You're not gonna be much use to her if you wind up in worse shape."

Steve shakes his head, not even looking at him. "Not until she wakes up. She's stronger now than she was this morning. I can wait."

Danny, having reached the end of his rope, places his free hand on Steve's shoulder. "No, Steven, you can't. I can just look at you and see how much pain you're in. I can feel your body shaking under my hand. I'm making an executive decision, as I am acting leader while you are out, and you are getting your ass back in that bed!" He pulls back on the shoulder and feels the fight. Steve struggles to keep his hand on Maggie's hip as Danny pulls him away. Grabbing the handles on the chair, Danny pulls the chair away, nodding at one of the agents to help him keep Steve in the chair.

"Dammit, Danny, don't you dare!" He struggles out of chair to remain at her side as several alarms start to blare at them.

"Steven J. McGarrett! You stay in this chair or I swear to God, I will knock you out myself!" Danny grabs both shoulders, pulling him back into the chair. He feels bad for a moment, when he hears the loud hiss of pain, but he holds his ground along with Steve in the chair. The agent moves in front of Steve, part guarding Maggie and part keeping Steve from moving out of the chair. "Steve, stop. Just stop." Danny all but begs. "I know you're a damn stubborn son-of-a-bitch but you have to know when to back off. I understand you feel responsible and guilty and all that shit, but she wouldn't want you putting yourself at risk just to sit next to her watching her sleep." He holds up his hand, "No, don't say it. You know she wouldn't want you doing this." He leans against the bed, glaring at his brother. "Think about how guilty she's gonna feel when she wakes up and you're in worse shape. Huh? You think about that? You don't have a monopoly on feeling guilty and we both know she's right behind you in that department about everything that happens around her. Don't do that to her, buddy. I promise, I'll stay right here, my hand on her leg, keeping that contact you believe she needs while you get some rest. I won't leave her. You know you can trust me." He places his hand gently on her leg and her vitals stable out again. "See, I can help every once in awhile. You don't have to do it all. You hear me?"

Steve stops struggling, staring at the man standing before him. He knows how right he is, but he feels deep in his soul that he needs to be here for her. "Danny…"

"No, Steven, I can see it in your eyes. You're in more pain than you want to admit so let me admit it for you. Get back in that bed and rest for a few hours, okay?"

Not able to fight the pain anymore, he drops his head, giving in. Danny nods to the two agents, who help get Steve back into his bed. The doctor moves to go over his vitals, shaking his head at the results. "Commander, you should've been back in this bed hours ago. Your blood pressure is elevated, your pulse high and you're temperature is raised. You are not to get out of this bed for at least the next twelve hours. No discussion, no fighting it. These agents are going to make sure you don't move." He nods at the two, who post themselves at the end of the bed. The doctor goes back to Maggie's bed, looking over the monitors. Nodding, he gives Danny a small smile and leaves the room. Danny pulls a chair over and sits down, hand not leaving Maggie's leg. He'd promised his brother not to leave her side and he won't. As crazy as Steve's claim was, it works. She seems quieter and more stable with the simple touch and he wants to help her heal. With what was done, she needs all the help she can get. He relaxes back into the chair, watching both of them, worried if anything will ever be the same.

Danny opens his eyes, his brother's voice loud in his ears. "Let me out of this bed now! I have every intention of sitting at her side, no matter how I get there."

"Steve…Steve, calm down." Danny mumbles, sitting up, wiping the sleep out of his eyes with his free hand. "What time is it?"

"Just after six, Detective. He's only been in this bed for a little over 6 hours. Doc said twelve, no variation. We can't let him out." Rogers says.

Danny looks at Steve, his face red, sweat running down and falling on his gown. He wants to get up and go to him, but he'd made a promise. "Steve, listen to me. She's fine. She's calm and her vitals are steady. Still not great, but steady. She's fighting, man. She doesn't want to leave. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. Kono's out in the other room but I'm still here. Don't threaten your health. Stay in the bed. Rest. That's the best thing you can do for her. Get yourself healthy." He shifts forward, hoping to impress his words on his brother.

"I need to be next to her, Danny. I can't explain it."

"I understand, Steve, but you can't jeopardize your own health. She's so much like you, you know how much guilt she would feel if you made yourself worse trying to be here for her. She knows you're here. I'm here. She knows now she's not alone. Just as you want. So, for both your sakes, remain in bed and heal. I can see just by looking at your face you are still in a lot of pain. Rest and let the meds to their job."

Sighing deeply, he relaxes back into the pillows. He knows Danny's right but he can't help but feel she needs him at her side. He couldn't protect her from Doherty and he can't even be at her side while she heals. He feels completely useless and he HATES that feeling. "Fine, another six hours, but then I want to be at her side. Understand?" He glares at Danny.

Danny nods, knowing if he can get Steve to sleep, it'll be morning before he gets back in that chair. "Whatever you say, Steve. Whatever you say." He smiles at him, sitting back in the chair. "Go to sleep, buddy. Best thing for you now."

Steve blinks his eyes, feeling his lids get heavy. "What? What did that doctor do?"

Danny smiles. He'd seen the doctor slip the sedative into the IV when he was going over Steve. It was the only way to get it into him and they all know he needs to rest. Deep down, he feels bad that Steve had no idea the drug was given to him but it's warranted. "What was needed to be sure you sleep, you animal. You're pushing yourself too much. I'm not gonna allow you to put your own health at risk. Don't worry, I'm not leaving, Steve. Go to sleep."

"Bastard…" Steve mumbles out before the sedative fully kicks in and he loses consciousness. Danny smiles, glad to have his brother sounding a little more like himself


	14. Chapter 13: Doherty: Finally

A/N: Sorry about the long time between chapters. RL and other such things got in the way. Hard to juggle other stories. Muses are working overtime. Here's a short one to tide you over. Thanks for those who are reading and following!

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 **Doherty: Finally**

He wakes to voices, low and relaxed coming through the haze. Peeling his eyelids up, he tries to focus on the dim light overhead. Turning his head, he can see its dark outside and he wonders how long he's been out. _Danny! Son-of-a-bitch had me sedated! I'm gonna kill him!_ "Danny?" He croaks out.

He hears movement and Chin comes around the curtain. "Hey Steve, how ya feeling?"

"Where's Danny?" He tries to sit up.

Chin moves to his side, shifting the pillows and helping him. "He's sleeping in the other room. Don't worry, Lou's sitting with Maggie. She's not alone, Steve." He steps back, studying the younger man.

"Is she awake?" He looks over at the curtain. "Why's the curtain closed? What happened?" He pulls the covers back.

"Whoa. Hold it right there." Chin grabs his hand. "She's fine. A little stronger. The doctor started her on a treatment for the virus and she's responding well. But, no, she's not awake. They closed the curtain simply to give each of you some privacy. That's all." He pulls the covers back up, gently pushing Steve back on the bed. "You need to rest, Steve. The doctor says you've developed another fever and you need to remain in bed."

"No, Chin. I need to be sitting with her. She needs me there." He reaches for the covers again. "I need to be there when she wakes up. I couldn't be there for her when she needed me the most so I need to be here when she wakes up."

 _And there it is!_ Chin thinks to himself. _His guilt is going to kill him on this one. He couldn't stop this psycho from almost killing her and now he feels responsible for her being in this condition._ "Steve, you are not responsible. I don't care what you think or feel. You were there for her. You protected her when the building fell down around the two of you. She's still alive because of what you did." He tucks his friend in and smiling at him. "I know no matter what I say you're gonna continue to feel guilty and that you should have done more, but there's nothing more you could've done. You were at a disadvantage from the beginning and already injured. Add to that the carefully planned abduction and torture he had set up for you…well, you did all you could. No, Steve, it wouldn't have mattered which vehicle you drove. The SS had one attached, too. So why don't you take it easy on yourself, for once, and take the time to heal. Neither of you are going anywhere. Not any time soon."

Steve sighs, relaxing back into the pillows. He knows Chin is right but he can't help the nagging feeling that he needs to be at her side; that she needs to see him alive and well when she opens her eyes. "I understand that, Chin, but I need to be there when she wakes up. She tried so hard to stop him; to keep him from hurting me. She passed out with the knowledge that we were going to be blown into little pieces and needs to know we both made it out alive. That's why she needs the contact. She needs to know she's not alone…not like when she lost consciousness. She was alone, hanging from the ceiling and in a great deal of pain."

Chin sits back, understanding the situation a little better. These two have come through a wretched ordeal and now have a connection no one can break. His heart aches for what they went through and wishes he could go back and keep it from happening but he can't and so they must all move forward. How? He has no idea how but first and foremost is to get the two of them healthy. "Okay, I understand, Steve. But you have to admit, making yourself sicker to sit at her side won't do either of you any good. If you're gonna help her, you need to get healthy first."

Steve nods, agreeing with him. "You're right. I know you're right but this feeling keeps nagging at me. I can't explain it." He considers trying to get up again.

Chin can tell what he's thinking and he places his hand on Steve's shoulder. "Give it another 12 hours, Steve. Let the meds do their job to get rid of this fever. The healthier you are, the more you can sit with her." He hits hard.

Steve considers what Chin says. _He's right. The healthier I am, the longer I can sit with her. But what if she wakes while I'm over here? I need to be there when she opens her eyes._

"Don't worry, Steve. If she even looks like she's waking up, we'll get you. We know how important it is to you. Now, sleep." Chin places his hand on Steve's forearm and gives a gentle squeeze.

Not able to fight the fatigue he still feels and the pain coursing through his body, he gives in and nods. "Fine. But it looks as if she's waking, you wake me up. Promise me that, Chin!"

"I do, Steve. No worries." The older man smiles.

Steve closes his eyes and drifts into unconsciousness.

He hears low, whispered voices that seem to be coming from all around him. Trying to pick out the different people, he just can't hear them clearly enough. "Danny?" He says, no louder than a whisper.

He hears a scrambling of feet and the curtain moving aside as Danny peeks around. "Hey, buddy, you're awake."

"Yeah. What time is it?"

"A little after nine. AM, that is."

"Nine? Dammit, did you put me out again?"

"No, Steven. You have just been sleeping for that long. You're sick and injured, remember. You're body is screaming out that you need to rest."

He looks from Danny to the curtain. "Maggie? Is she okay? Is she awake?" He sits up, hissing a bit as he shifts.

"Here, let me." Danny grabs the control and raises the bed. "There." He sits down on the edge. "She's fine, Steve. Chin is sitting with her. She's been getting stronger with every hour that passes. Seems the treatment for the virus is working." Danny smiles, hoping this will satisfy his partner.

"Good. I need to sit with her." He pushes down the covers. "Please, Danny. I've been in this bed for more than a day. I NEED to sit with her."

Danny considers Steve for a moment and then nods. "Let's see what the doc has to say about you and then maybe." He stands and motions to the other side of the curtain. A nurse comes around, smiles at Steve and proceeds to check him over. Logging all her findings on a tablet, she moves back around the curtain, handing it to the doctor.

"Danny, why is the curtain closed? It's not like we have anything to hide." Steve tries to lean forward to see around.

Danny gently places a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, buddy. Let's see what the doc says, okay?" He sits back down on the bed.

Steve nods, anxiety rocketing to an all time high. Tapping the fingers of his good hand, he keeps looking over, watching for the doctor to come around.

"Steve, calm down. You'd think you were never getting out of this bed again. Don't worry." He places and hand on Steve's casted arm.

"What is taking so long? Read some numbers and then let me get out of this damn bed!"

"Hey…"Danny begins as they hear the curtain shift.

"Good morning, Commander." The original doctor comes over to the bed. "Seems sleep is what you needed." He smiles.

"Does that mean I can get out of this bed?"

"It goes against my better judgment…"

"Good, that means the fever's gone. Get me out of here, Danny." Steve throws back the covers.

"Hold on there, Commander. I did not say you could get out of bed." The doctor signals to the two agents.

"No, you said against your better judgment. I take that as I am good enough, just not in the best shape. I'm willing to take that. Just like before. I'll be fine. You have no responsibility." He pushes Danny off the bed, shifting his good leg over the edge. "Besides, you have everyone here ready to shove me back in this bed at your word. So, what harm is there?" He motions to the two agents to bring the chair over. They look at the doctor, who nods, and then move the chair to the side of the bed. With the doctor's direction, they get him into the chair, IV's in place and a blanket over his lap.

"Now, the same rules apply as before, Commander. If I feel you are jeopardizing your, or her, recovery, I will have you back in this bed. I will not hesitate this time. Do you understand?"

Steve listens this time. He remembers just how much pain he was in the last time. "Yes, doc, I understand." He nods, a little more humble this time.

"Fine." He nods.

Danny moves behind and rolls Steve around the curtain. A sharp intake of breath is heard as Steve gets a look at her. _What a difference a day makes._ He motions for Danny to roll him close. Chin moves to the other side of the bed, never removing his hand from her and nods to Steve.

"She's been quiet, sleeping deeply for the last twelve hours or so. Doc says the treatment is working and she's getting stronger, though we still stay with her."

"Thanks, Chin. I appreciate it." He says as he's moved over to the bed. "When did the tube come out?" He looks at her face, a few scars still showing but all bruising gone and her face looking more like the beautiful woman he first met.

"About three this morning. She was fighting it so the doc thought to see if she was breathing on her own. She was, so, here she is now." Danny sets the chair, locking the wheels and standing next to Steve. "Now, per the doc, if you start to show signs of pain or she does, you are getting back in that bed. We are not having a repeat of the last couple of days. Got that?"

Steve nods, not really hearing him. He's taking in all that he can see. As he first noticed, the vent is gone and she's breathing on her own. He watches her chest rise and fall under the blankets and he relaxes. _Breathing on her own…that's a good sign._ He reaches out with his right hand and gently places it on her hip. Again, the only place he can find where there's not a bandage or cast. Almost immediately her pulse speeds up, as does her breathing, but no alarms go off.

"What's happening?" He looks around from the nurse to the doctor.

"Well, if we take a page out of your book, Commander, she knows you're here." He watches as her pulse evens out and her breathing becomes deeper. "She's getting more oxygen now. I don't understand it, but she does realize you are here." He moves to the machines, checking numbers and settings.

"Agent Fanneran…"

"Finn. Her name is Finneran. Why can't you get her name right? F-I-N-N. Finn." Steve corrects him, annoyance showing on his face and in his body language. "You've been here for, what, close to five days and you still call her by the wrong name. No wonder she doesn't register anything. She doesn't know you're talking to her. Her name is Maggie Finneran. Finn, doc. Get that right." He's brought out of his rant by a tapping on his shoulder.

"Steve." Danny points.

"Maggie?" Steve sees her eyes moving quickly, as if trying to wake up.


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Thank you to all who are reading. I wish I could respond to each and every comment but unable to for the guests.

See end for more notes...

 **Doherty: What happens now?**

 **.**

She's been tethered for what seems like forever. Not able to move, talk or see. She feels as though she's in a thick fluid, a large tube down her throat giving her life-sustaining air. But she's all alone. Has been for as long as she can remember. Remember…all she can remember is loneliness and pain. Such pain as she's never felt before. Nothing before that. She lives in pain. Such pain. It soon becomes the normal and she knows nothing different. Suddenly, excruciating pain shoots through her entire being as she's shaken and moved and thrown against unseen walls. She tries to scream out but the tube keeps her from uttering a sound. She tries to reach out, but her arms won't move. Tears come to her eyes, but she can't even feel those. _Please, make it stop! Someone listen to me! Make the pain stop, please. It's eating me up inside. I can feel it. Please._ She thinks, wishing someone would hear her. As it increases to where if feels as though her skins on fire, there's a hundred-thousand volts going through her body and every nerve is being pulled out, one-by-one. Screaming out in her mind, everything goes dark.

She becomes aware again and pain is back to its normal level. She can deal with this now. This must be her existence. Nothing else but pain. It's all she knows. She floats in the thick liquid, unable to move or talk; unable to find anyone else; unable to see. _Is this what death is like? Is this to be my existence until the end of time?_ She cries, or at least she thinks she does; she cannot tell. It feels as though she's crying…sobbing with everything she has. Suddenly, relief. Small, but definitely there. Down near her middle. A spot with no pain.

She cries out in her mind with absolute relief. Such a wonderful feeling. An oasis on her island of pain. _Wait…island? Why did I think that? An island…that's important. Home. A new home. New family…o'hana. OH MY GOD!_ She screams in her mind as she remembers everything. All that had happened and why she was feeling such pain. _What the hell is that?_ She yells as she feels another oasis of relief. This on the other side of her middle. Not as much relief as the first, but still, it's SO wonderful. She tries to concentrate on those small jewels and that takes everything she has. Soon, the large one disappears but the other stays. They move all over her but always present, never leaving her alone. _That's what it is. I'm not alone._ She puts all her focus on those small bits of heaven to pass the time. She longs for the stronger touch…the one which gives her more relief but it doesn't come so she settles for the smaller ones…each one at a time, switching positions, never allowing her to be alone. She blesses them for never leaving, though she has no idea just how long she will remain here.

Again, another change in her surroundings as she feels pain in her chest and then air rushes in as if she's lifted out of the liquid and can breathe on her own. It's exhilarating and she forgets about the pain for awhile. She takes in what feels like deep breaths, reveling in the beauty of it. To be able to breathe on her own after so long…she can't describe it. Just pure joy!

Then she feels it again. The loving relief. It radiates out from her hip and she has to see what's causing it…what's bringing her to the surface. She fights, clawing her way up, or out, or whatever direction it is. All she knows is it's away from the pain…away from the unending depths of hell and toward not being alone. She's been so lonely and she fights for it. Fights to not be by herself. She wants this new family; this group of people who have taken her in. Whatever she has to do, however hard she has to fight, she will do it.

Clawing, or swimming, or climbing her way, she can feel the pull; the almost drag from this family back to the surface. She fights, oh how she fights and she can hear voices now. Those voices give her strength and will to continue. She knows she needs to get back to them…NOW!

As the voices get closer, she concentrates on them…one voice in particular. Through the haze, she hears him, as if he's protecting her.

 **"** **Finn. Her name is Finneran. Why can't you get her name right? F-I-N-N! Finn."** She likes the sound of that. His voice so strong and passionate. _He's alive! He didn't die in that godforsaken building. That bastard didn't kill him. Oh, thank God!_

"Oh, t'nk gd. St've." Comes out as a mumble.

"Steve."

"Maggie?" She feels that wonderful relief from pain move closer. "Maggie, can you hear me?" She hears.

"Mmm, yea." She murmurs. "Like that." She mumbles.

"What?" Steve asks. "Like what? Come on, open those eyes."

"Hmm, name." Is all she can get out. Trying to open her eyes is impossible. She tries but they feel as though they are glued shut.

"Hold on, Commander." The nurse says, moving to Maggie's side. Ringing out a washcloth, she carefully places the warm cloth against Maggie's eyes, dabbing at them to clean off any residue from the last three weeks. "We've tried to keep them clean but now that she's awake, well…" She continues to dab and wipe at her eyes.

Maggie feels the warm cloth on her eyes and at first it feels wonderful, but after two or three swipes, it becomes uncomfortable. She tries to move a hand up to stop it but cannot move.

"Wha'", she croaks, trying to move.

"No, Maggie, lie still. Okay, you need to lie still." She hears that deep, strong, calming voice. Going against instinct, she tries to relax, allowing whoever to do what they need to. She trusts him completely.

"There we go. Try now, Agent." A calm, female voice states.

Trying again, her eyelids flutter as she tries to open them. She feels the hand on her hip increase pressure and she needs to see him. Needs to see that he's alive! Struggling, her eyelids flutter again, her eyes rolling in her head and then they open, light flooding her brain and a frown covers her face. Slamming them shut, she groans through the laser-like pain that shoots through her head.

"Maggie? You still with us? Come on."

"St've? That you?" She mumbles again, trying to reach out for him.

"I'm here." The pressure on her hip increases. "I'm alive. We're both alive." His voice is warm and full of emotion.

She slowly opens her eyes again, turning her head to his voice. She hears all kinds of background noise, but nothing gets through her need to see and hear him. "We are?" She groans as the light hits here eyes again.

Steve, wanting to stand and block the light, grunts in frustration, motioning to turn off the overhead lights. "There, is that better?" He asks as it becomes a little darker in the room.

"Hmm," she hums, opening her eyes wide, focusing on the blurry figure before her. Blinking several times, she finally focuses on the face and smiles. "Hi."

"Hey, there you are." He squeezes her hip, a tear running down his face.

She wants to reach up and wipe it away but still cannot move her arms. "Wha'," she tries to move.

"No, Maggie, don't. You were injured. Your shoulders. And your hand was broken in several places. Don't you remember?" He says quietly.

She closes her eyes again, the memories flooding her mind of what they went through before all she knew was pain. Groaning loudly, what can only be taken as a sob escapes her throat. "Oh god." She cries as she starts shaking.

"Shhhh." Steve tries to calm her but he's limited by his injuries. Looking up, he sees the nurse open the pain bolus and soon sees Maggie's eyes get drowsy. "Better?"

"Hmmm. Like what you said." She says sluggishly.

"What?" He leans as close as he can get.

"Finn. Like that." She murmurs, her eyes closing as she falls back into a deep sleep.

"Maggie?" He squeezes her hip again. "Maggie?"

"She's fallen back into a deep, healing sleep, Commander. She needs her rest. Now that we know she's out of the coma, this is exactly what she needs." The doctor checks the machines and is satisfied with what he sees.

"She's okay?" Steve sits back, his hand still on her hip.

"Well, she's out of the coma. Once she can handle the pain, we need to start with her physical therapy. We need to find out just the amount of damage done to her shoulders. I know it sounds cold, but we need to get them assessed as soon as possible to keep the damage minimal." He moves over to Steve. "Now that she's woken up, you need to get back into bed and get some rest, too."

"No."

"Commander,"

"No. I'll sit her with her. I know she can feel me. She said my name when she woke up. I'm not leaving her now." He relaxes as much as he can into the chair. They had switched out the original one for one of the newer models, more comfortable for him and easier to move around.

"Commander, Agent Fanneran may be asleep…"

"Dammit, why can you not get her name correct? Finn! Her name is Finn! I mean, Finneran." He stops as it hits him what she meant.

"Fine. Agent **Finneran** may be asleep for several hours now. You should be back in your bed."

Steve, using his good hand, flips a couple levers on the chair, leaning him back, almost in a supine position and he looks up at the doctor. "Why do you think I wanted this chair?" He smiles, placing his hand on her shin before her tossing and turning becomes too bad. "I can stay here until she wakes again."

Danny walks up to him. "Steve, buddy, are you sure?"

"Danny, she said my name when she woke up. I need to be here when she wakes again. I know how disconcerting it is when waking from that much pain. She's still going to be unfocused and confused when she wakes again and I need to be here. She needs to know I am here and alive."

"Steve…" Danny starts.

"No!" He says vehemently. "Dammit, Danny, I know how hard it is to come out of this kind of pain. It's unbearable." He sits back up, locking the chair. He doesn't see the rest of the team come in. "You don't have any reference; no idea what's going on. If you're lucky enough to have someone or something to ground you, it's a miracle. I have you and the rest of the team. You guys ground me. I know you're here for her, but you don't understand. You can't understand. Not unless you've been through this kind of pain. She doesn't know you all well enough to be grounded by you. We've been through this together so I know. I know what she's feeling. I know how horrible it is to wake up in so much pain you wished you'd never woken up. I lived through that. Yeah, I remember. Not all of it, but enough. No matter that it's been weeks. She's still in pain and she needs to know she's not alone. I am not moving until I know she understands that." He keeps his hand on her, more determined than ever to be here the next time she opens her eyes.

Danny looks at the rest of the team, pain and concern in his eyes. He's been hurt and Steve knows it. It hurts him to think that Steve thinks he doesn't understand. He knows what it feels like, but he's here for his partner…both his partners. They both need to survive. If one does, no matter which one, the guilt will kill the other. THAT he knows and understands.

"Okay, Steve. Okay. Whatever you need. Just remember, you're recovering, too. Don't risk your own recovery." He gently places his hand on Steve's shoulder. He waits a minute and then walks away, nodding to the rest of the team to follow.

"Wow. I never realized…" Kono comments.

"He never said anything. I don't think he even told the doctor he remembers. You know he thinks admitting to the pain makes him weak. He's really invested in this, though. We just need to make sure he doesn't go too far. Okay?" He looks around the room.

They all nod, knowing the next couple of weeks are gonna be rough on everyone involved.

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 **A/N2:** RL has a way of getting in the way. There may be an extended period of time before the next chapter is posted. Please be patient and I will get it up as soon as I can, but things are a little difficult right now. I hope you stay with me. Lots of angst and confessions and background coming up since Steve and Maggie are going to be together for a couple of months.

Thank you!


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